Have your cake or eat it? New findings on public attitudes to Brexit (part two)

Critics believe the UK government wants to ‘have its cake and eat it’: the proposals seek both frictionless trade with the EU and a soft Irish border, while at the same time securing a fully independent trade policy; continued free trade in goods and services alongside restriction on the free movement of people; and mutual recognition combined with regulatory divergence. It has been suggested within the EU institutions that these objectives are incompatible, and that the UK will consequently face major trade-offs as the negotiations progress.

This report, based on new polling of public attitudes, explores the public’s preference for different trade scenarios when faced with a number of difficult Brexit trade-offs.