YouGov survey suggests majority support idea of Britain returning to bloc – but not on same terms it once enjoyed

A decade after MPs voted to hold the referendum that led to Britain leaving the European Union, a poll has found majorities in the bloc’s four largest member states would support the UK rejoining – but not on the same terms it had before.

The YouGov survey of six western European countries, including the UK, also confirms that a clear majority of British voters now back the country rejoining the bloc – but only if it can keep the opt-outs it previously enjoyed.

Asked whether Britain should be allowed back in on the same conditions it enjoyed when it left, including not having to adopt the euro currency and remaining outside the Schengen passport-free zone, the numbers changed significantly.

  • CircaV@lemmy.ca
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    5 hours ago

    The UK made their bed, now lie in it. Former empire of old that has never done reparations. Now sucking up to Trump. Nice one Brits. 🙄

  • kebab@endlesstalk.org
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    32
    ·
    1 day ago

    Most people in France, Germany, Italy and Spain would support UK rejoining EU, poll finds

    Sure, but as an equal member, without special treatment, which won’t please current UK.

    Asked whether Britain should be allowed back in on the same conditions it enjoyed when it left, including not having to adopt the euro currency and remaining outside the Schengen passport-free zone, the numbers changed significantly.

    Only one-fifth of respondents across the four biggest EU members, from 19% in Italy and France to 21% in Spain and 22% in Germany, felt the UK should be allowed return as if it had never left, with 58-62% saying it must be part of all main EU policy areas.

    In the UK, while 54% of Britons supported rejoining the EU when asked the question in isolation, the figure fell to just 36% if rejoining meant giving up previous opt-outs. On those terms, 45% of Britons opposed renewed membership.

  • WIZARD POPE💫@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    101
    ·
    edit-2
    1 day ago

    Well yeah. I support them joining. But…

    The idiots left of their own volition. No more handouts and special privileges. Join as any other nation and follow the same fucking rules. You left on a high horse and came crawling back. You could not appreciate your special deal so you are not worthy of getting another one. Just like any other nation now.

  • vrighter@discuss.tchncs.de
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    56
    ·
    1 day ago

    I would support them joining. But of course no fucking tantrums will be tolerated. You will abide by the same rules as everyone else.

    • stormeuh@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      27
      ·
      1 day ago

      Yup, adopting the Euro as currency would be my first condition. They threw a lot of privilege and bargaining power away out of pride, so that pride should be injured as much as possible (but without emiserating the common people).

      • havocpants@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        5
        ·
        1 day ago

        I was very strongly against us leaving, and I would love the UK to rejoin, but give up the pound? That is absolutely not happening.

      • Part4@infosec.pub
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        4
        ·
        1 day ago

        There is literally zero chance of the British accepting the Euro. It has disaster baked into it.

        The Maastricht treaty defined that you lose the right to 1. run budsget deficits in periods of economic contraction. 2. Set interest rates. 3. Devalu your currency when necessary.

        Greece got to borrow at rates Germany enjoy - for a while. Germany gets a hugely devalued currency which actually allows it to be a great exporter (well that and the US post WW2 investment).

        This inequality in peripheral countries absolutely drives the rise of the far right.

        Other than that |the British people don’t want to be in the EU. Being forced into it will put Reform UK into power. They are as Russia aligned as Trump.

        • fushuan [he/him]@piefed.blahaj.zone
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          4 hours ago

          other than that the British people don’t want to be in the EU.

          So your point is that regardless of the euro thing the Brits don’t want back? Then why are there so many polls with majority wanting in, and so many talks about it? It’s all media manipulation?

  • mrmule@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    23
    ·
    1 day ago

    The UK didn’t have a referendum to join the EU originally so I really don’t get why they had one to decide if they should leave. That referendum was bought and manipulated by the Russians I’m sure.

    I would love the UK to rejoin the EU. They will probably want to keep the pound which will most likely be the main sticking point, but everything else including being part of the Schengen region should be non negotiable.

    • Scrollone@feddit.it
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      6
      ·
      19 hours ago

      I mean, Sweden is also forced to join the Eurozone, but they keep postponing it thanks to a loophole. The UK could just pretend to accept it and then do as Sweden is doing (for the time being).

    • Part4@infosec.pub
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      edit-2
      1 day ago

      Edit - I know most poeople will not be able to cope with this reading of the EU and will not change their mind in any way. When presented with a fact that does not match the reality one has (co-)constructed one has to reject the fact, because one cannot reject reality. So I am happy to agree to disagree, I won’t reply further in this thread, I will just block. And you can downvote this, but you can’t downvote reality away. If only you could, eh!?

      The UK political classes ignoring the brexit vote, and rejoining the EU gets Reform UK into power. Who will leave the EU, and are as aligned with Russia as Trump is.

      The likes of the bbc framed the brexit debate as a choice between ‘liberalism’ and something xenophobic, which is not why the vast majority of people wanted out of the EU, and omitted the stories of the majority who had very good reason to be unhappy with the EU.

      The EU is pro corporatism, anti diversity (why have one set of rules for all of Europe, written by corporate lobbyists in Brussels? What is right for the majority of UK citizens, is not right for the Irish, What is right for Germans is not right for Greeks. etc etc etc. Europe has a wonderfully diverse culture, one set of homogenised rules written by corporate lobbbyists is not right and never will be. Brexit is about the right to self-determinism and autonomy.

      The EU was an American idea. They wanted a bulwark against the Soviet Union in Europe. We are in a very different world now.

      If the EU wants a Russia aligned nuclear power on their Western side within a decade they push for the UK to rejoin. Th EU ere disgusting in their dealing with the UK post brexit. To expect or demand further concession shows just how hopelessly mislead EU citizens are.

      • iglou@programming.dev
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        15
        ·
        24 hours ago

        “If you disagree, you’re just unable to cope with reality”

        Opinion discarded automatically!

      • Buffalox@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        edit-2
        20 hours ago

        one has to reject the fact, because one cannot reject reality.

        Facts are based on reality, you cannot reject facts without rejecting reality. The stupidity of the above is mind blowing. 🤣🤣🤣

      • Fjdybank@lemmy.ca
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        7
        ·
        edit-2
        1 day ago

        Fuck off with this misinformation.

        If the EU was as conformist / homo-cultural as you suggest, the cultural identity of constituent states would have long since disappeared.

        Go tell someone in Florence or Sicily that, because they have been in EU since 1950, they are no longer Italian (or that they are somehow now culturally equivalent to a Dubliner). See how that works out for you.

        • Part4@infosec.pub
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          3
          ·
          edit-2
          1 day ago

          As I said. This individual simply cannot tolerate a different reading of the pro-corporate, anti-diversity EU so they immediately resort to vulgar insult.

          Believe it or not it suits me personally, on the most cynical level - free movement etc - to be in the EU. It just happens that I grew up with people who have been hammered by EU membership, and who voted heavily against it. I abstained because I won’t vote against the interests of the people I grew up with.

          What I said about reform is absolutely on the cards anyway, forcing a rejoining of the EU on people who voted against it greatly hastens their rise. This is something I don’t want to see. EU citizens don’t seem able to bend, and when you don’t bend you break.

          Anyway. Block it is.

  • palordrolap@fedia.io
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    18
    ·
    1 day ago

    We’ll only rejoin if it makes the rich people who live here a lot of money, and that would have to be as soon as possible after that happens.

    Otherwise, picture a child sitting, pouting and petulant, arms folded tight, on a stool in a corner saying “no!”

    There’s a vague possibility of long-term gains turning their heads as well, but the armchair physicist and psychologist in me thinks that the gain would need to be proportional to the square of time in order get through their greedy little brains.

  • Arcane2077@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    10
    ·
    1 day ago

    The shithole that outlawed peaceful protest and considers supporting Palestine a terroristic threat? Nothankyou

    • Ann Archy@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      1 day ago

      We need them in the fucking fold. They have nukes, they still wield tremendous power. Isolating them will only make them more radicalized.

      With them in the EU we at least have some control and influence over their fucking slipping.

      When a family member goes off the rails, you don’t abandon them, you try to bring them back to sanity.

      • Arcane2077@sh.itjust.works
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        1 day ago

        You give them too much credit. Without US making their decisions for them they can’t do anything. Inside or outside the EU, they’re a liability

  • wax@feddit.nu
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    7
    ·
    1 day ago

    How would the EU/UK combat disinformation though? It’s way too easy to blame any change in social conditions on the EU.