Opinion poll shows that half of British voters favor rejoining the EU... Prime Minister's remarks are mixed

Divided interpretations of gains and losses between the Labor Party and the British Reform Party

(Berlin = Yonhap News) Correspondent Kim Gye-yeon = A public opinion poll showed that half of British voters support rejoining the European Union (EU). British Prime Minister Andy Burnham recently went further in his Labor Party platform and hinted at the possibility of Britain returning to the EU.

According to the Daily Guardian on the 3rd (local time), in a survey conducted last month by political consulting firm Messina Group, 49% of respondents were in favor of rejoining the EU, and 28.5% were opposed.

Among the seven ways to reset relations presented in the survey, the percentage in favor of rejoining the EU was the highest by a narrow margin. 48.2% were in favor of revising the bilateral agreement with the EU, and 47.1% were in favor of joining the customs union.

Only 27.9% of respondents said that we should distance ourselves further from the EU. This was similar to the proportion of respondents who said that Brexit (Britain's withdrawal from the EU) was right, which was 29.7%.

Regarding the EU-UK summit scheduled to be held next month, Prime Minister Burnham said on the 29th of last month, "I will present various options that I consider for the UK's long-term relationship with European partners." The next day, he told the BBC, “We could go all the way,” implying that rejoining the EU was one of the options.

This survey was conducted from the 12th to the 24th of last month, before Prime Minister Burnham hinted at the possibility of returning to the EU. Recent surveys by other organizations, including YouGov, show that more people are in favor of rejoining the EU than are opposed, at around 50%.

Messina Group analyzed voter responses and predicted that Labor's vote share would increase by 4.3 to 7.4 percent in each scenario of strengthening relations with the EU.

However, there is also an analysis that Prime Minister Burnham's return to the EU could cause political and social chaos and division, which could revive the right-wing British Reform Party, which has recently faltered.

The Guardian reported that among constituency members who supported Brexit in the 2016 referendum, there are concerns that even confirming public support poses high political risk and will strengthen the British Reform Party.

Nigel Farage, leader of the British Reform Party, said on the 1st, "A second referendum will divide the country to a degree we have never seen before. He may have given me the greatest impetus in my political life. Thank you, Andy."