Nearly three-quarters of voters find £30bn-plus Brexit divorce bill ‘unacceptable’ - poll
2 min read
Nearly three-quarters of voters believe the UK should not pay Brussels a Brexit divorce bill of more than £30 billion, according to a new poll.
The survey, conducted by ICM for The Guardian, found 72% of people would find the sum "unacceptable", compared to just 11% who do not.
It was reported earlier this month that ministers were willing to pay £36bn to settle Britain's existing financial commitments with the EU.
Some 65% of voters said a bill of more than £20bn was unacceptable, with 18% saying it was acceptable.
However, support for a payment of more than £10bn has increased to 40% since the last time the issue was polled in April.
A total of 40% still think that sum would be unacceptable, but that is down from 64% four months ago.
Brussels chiefs have insisted that the size of the exit payment, as well as the future of the Irish border and the issue of citizens' rights, must all be agreed before the EU's future trading relationship with Britain can be discussed.
European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker re-emphasised the EU's position this morning, saying "an enormous amount of issues" have still to be settled.
"We need to be crystal clear that we will commence no negotiations on the new relationship – particularly a new economic and trade relationship – between the UK and the EU before all these questions are resolved,” he said.
"First of all we settle the past before we look forward to the future."
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