A shock new poll has revealed that even a majority of Reform UK supporters now want to unpick parts of Brexit and move the UK closer to the EU.
The major YouGov survey of 2,224 voters has underlined a significant shift in attitudes to the Brexit debate and suggests that Nigel Farage’s continued hostility towards the EU is not even landing with his own party’s supporters.
According to the findings, 55 per cent of Reform UK (previously the Brexit Party) voters want a permanent youth mobility scheme for young people in the UK and Europe to be put in place with just 34 per cent opposing.
The scheme is being looked at following the Brexit reset by Sir Keir Starmer earlier this year, which the prime minister described as an ongoing process.
Overall, 76 per cent of those asked support the scheme, compared to only 13 per cent who are opposed.
Meanwhile, 62 per cent of Tory voters support the youth mobility scheme despite the party’s hard line in favour of Brexit, while 90 per cent of Sir Keir’s Labour voters back it.
In a further telling result, Reform voters also back closer trading with the EU by 41 per cent to 19 per cent.
Among the options presented to them, only 35 per cent want to be “more distant” from the EU, with 23 per cent wanting closer relations and 32 per cent preferring no change.
Pro-EU campaign group Best for Britain described the support for measures such as youth mobility among Reform voters as “highly significant”.
Tom Brufatto, director of policy, said: “A deal on youth mobility would create new opportunities for young UK and EU citizens alike, as first proposed by the UK Trade and Business Commission in 2021, and, as Best for Britain’s polling found earlier this year, is favoured in every constituency in Great Britain.
“The government must now use this welcome momentum to work at speed with the EU to finalise a deal so Brits can feel the economic benefits – no more time should be wasted.”
The polling was commissioned by the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) and Seasonal Businesses in Travel (SBiT) and carried out over 25-26 August, with 483 Reform voters among the 2,224 polled.
The associations argue that youth mobility matters for the health of the UK’s outbound travel sector, which brings more than £52bn a year in gross value added (GVA) to the UK economy, because many of the workers in the industry started their careers in temporary roles overseas and around two-thirds of all UK holidays overseas are taken within the EU annually.
Previous research by ABTA and SBiT revealed that over a third of all workers, and nearly half of industry leaders, worked in similar roles earlier in their careers.
There has also been a notable fall in opportunities for young people to find these roles since the UK voted to leave the EU, with the number of UK nationals working in tourism support roles, such as travel reps, having fallen by 69 per cent since then.
Luke Petherbridge, ABTA’s director of public affairs, said: “We know that travel is one of the most noticeable areas that has been altered by the UK’s departure from the EU – with Brits now having to join different passport queues, and changes to the in-destination experience of UK holidaymakers as it has become harder for travel companies to hire get UK staff into Europe.
“We welcomed the UK-EU deal in May. We now need to see progress on the items within the deal, such as enhanced use of eGates and, importantly, restoring opportunities for young people from the UK to live and work in the EU, which often is the way people take their first steps into a career in travel. Securing these changes will help the industry to grow and to continue to be successful.”
The Independent has asked Reform UK for a comment.
