Half of Brits want another EU referendum in five years - as Brexit support slumps

Nearly half of voters want another EU referendum in the next five years, while less than a third would back Brexit in a new vote.

Research by More in Common for the Sunday Timesreveals public attitudes towards Europe have shifted over the past decade. The poll of more than 2,000 people found 29% would vote to leave the EU if the Brexit vote was repeated, compared to 52% in the referendum in June 2016.

Now, 52% would say they would back being in the EU, with 8% unsure and 11% saying they would not vote. Nearly half (49%) thought there should be a referendum on rejoining the bloc in the next five years, with more than a third, (37%) opposed. It comes as Nigel Farage appearances on Sky News sparked thousands of complaints

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Keir Starmer has pursued a closer relationship with Brussels since entering Government, which includes a EU-UK deal to ease barriers to trade since Brexit.

The PM has also struck up relationships with a number of European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, following years of hostility from Tory PMs towards European leaders.

But there is no appetite in Government for another referendum on EU membership after the last vote took years of Commons battles to enact.

The poll also found a majority (58%) think the UK should remain in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), compared to 28% who think quit its membership.

Nigel Farage said leaving the ECHR would be the first thing he did if he won the next election, while Kemi Badenoch has said the Tories will review it.

The pact, which Winston Churchill helped to draw up after the Second World War, has been blamed by critics for making it harder to deport migrants who have come to Britain by protecting their human rights.

Luke Tryl, director of More in Common, said: “With fewer than three in ten saying they would vote to leave the EU in a referendum today and almost six in ten saying the UK should remain in the ECHR, the days of Europe as a political bogeyman may be on the wane and politicians might find themselves pushed on how they’ll build a more constructive relationship with Europe.

"That’s especially true in the face of an erratic Trump presidency, with Brits split as to whether Starmer is being too friendly to the US president or not."

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