Voters want to remain in EU by 12-point margin as Brexit opposition reaches new high, poll finds

Voters back remaining in the European Union by a bigger margin than at any time since the 2016 Brexit referendum, a new poll has found.

The survey, conduted after MPs overwhelmingly rejected Theresa May's deal earlier this week, found that the four-point lead secured by the Leave campaign in 2016 has turned into a 12-point lead for Remain.

56 per cent of voters now back staying in the EU compared with 44 per cent who want to leave, according to the YouGov survey.

The poll, for the People's Vote campaign, found that 56 per cent also want another referendum on Brexit - up three points in less than a month.

Among Labour supporters, the figure rises to 78 per cent - piling pressure on Jeremy Corbyn to endorse giving the public the final say on Britain's withdrawal from the EU.

The Labour leader is facing growing calls from party members and many of his MPs to back a fresh referendum but has so far refused to do so, insisting that his focus is on trying to trigger a general election.

The YouGov poll found that voters support staying in the EU by an even bigger margin if the alternative is leaving on the terms of Ms May's deal. In such a scenario, 65 per cent would back Remain, while 35 per cent would still want to leave.

If Brexit meant leaving the EU without a deal, 59 per cent would prefer to stay in, while 41 per cent would want to leave.

Commenting on the findings, Chuka Umunna MP, a supporter of the People’s Vote campaign, said: “This snap poll shows more than ever why the government needs to change course and hand this decision on Brexit back to the people.

"There is now a clear and expanding majority for staying in the EU and an even bigger one when voters have the chance to look at the real options for leaving. Norway Plus and a customs union are not compromise solutions that could command a consensus, but niche positions supported by less than one in ten voters.

“The poll also underlines why the leadership of my party needs to listen to Labour’s own supporters, more than three-quarters of whom are demanding a People’s Vote. To ignore those calls now would be an historic mistake for which Labour would not be forgiven.”

The poll found that voters do not support two alternative Brexit outcomes that have been proposed by some MPs: maintaining a customs union with the EU or agreeing a Norway-style deal that would see the UK also stay in the single market.

Only 26 per cent of voters said the Norway option was "sensible", compared with 46 per cent who thought it was a "bad idea".

The possibility of staying in a customs union was even less popular, with 16 per cent of respondents supporting it and 57 per cent opposed.

Both were significantly less popular among voters than either staying in the EU or leaving without a deal.

Peter Kellner, former president of YouGov said: “Now that MPs have rejected the withdrawal agreement so decisively, other compromise options have been suggested: “Norway Plus" or a customs union-only deal. Both receive a clear thumbs-down from voters. In both cases, they are rejected as bad ideas both by Remain and Leave voters.

“Again, the poll has a strong message for Jeremy Corbyn: Labour voters back a new public vote by 78-22 per cent. The poll suggests that fewer than one in four voters oppose a fresh referendum on the grounds that it would be a rerun of the 2016 vote: just 22 per cent in the case of a Remain versus government deal referendum, 23% in the case of a Remain versus no deal referendum.”

YouGov polled 1,070 voters on Wednesday 16 January.