Nine in ten Labour MPs say UK can stay in single market after Brexit - poll
2 min read
A massive 90% of Labour MPs believe the UK could stay in the single market after Brexit, despite Jeremy Corbyn insisting the opposite, a new poll has suggested.
Both the Labour leader and Theresa May have insisted the UK must quit the trading area to ensure the free movement of people ends once Britain quits the EU in March 2019.
But a new Ipsos MORI poll for independent organisation The UK in a Changing Europe has laid bare the divide between the party leaders and their parliamentarians.
As well as the chasm between Labour MPs and their leadership, about a quarter of Tory MPs believe continued single market is compatible with Brexit.
And only three quarters thought it would be unacceptable for free movement to continue during the expected two-year transition period after March 2019.
Some 63% meanwhile oppose the European Court of Justice having any jurisdiction over the UK during the transition - despite the Prime Minister suggesting she would be willing to accept ECJ oversight.
Meanwhile, about three quarters of Labour MPs believe free movement will probably have to continue during the two-year transition.
Some 56% of all MPs believe staying in the single market is compatible with respecting the referendum result - down from 66% last year.
And 64% of MPs - including almost half of Conservatives - said the UK could go on paying in to the EU budget after Brexit and still have honoured the referendum result.
The UK in a Changing Europe boss Professor Anand Menon said: “Brexit presents a stark challenge to the leaderships of both major political parties.
“Their views are at odds with those of their own MPs. This promises to cause significant problems for both Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn.
“The Prime Minister, in particular, might face considerable opposition from her own backbenchers when it comes to securing the kind of transitional deal she has indicated she wants.”
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