Only a quarter of voters support Boris Johnson’s law-breaking plan on Brexit

Prime minister Boris Johnson. Photograph: Toby Melville/PA Wire - Credit: PA

Only a quarter of voters support Boris Johnson’s law-breaking plan to override parts of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, new polling suggests.

The polling suggests that the government is in ‘deep trouble’ with voters over its admission it would break international law to change its Brexit plans.

Some 47% of voters say planning to break the law is unacceptable, according to YouGov polling, with only 25% believing it would be acceptable.

Once ‘don’t knows’ are stripped out, around two-thirds of those with an opinion oppose the government’s position.

The polling, carried out for Best for Britain, also found almost a quarter (24%) of Conservative voters are not supportive of the position, and just 52% of Tory voters say it is acceptable.

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Younger voters are overwhelmingly opposed to the government’s position – with only 6% of 18 to 24-year-olds deeming it acceptable.

Best for Britain CEO Naomi Smith said: ‘Any government that can get only half its supporters on board with a controversial policy is in deep trouble.

‘Boris Johnson has completely lost non-Tory voters on this issue, doesn’t have the backing of a huge number of his own voters, and is struggling to maintain Westminster discipline as well, none of which is surprising for a party which considers itself to be a champion of law and order.

‘Whether the government really will break the law or not is, in many ways, a moot point; the admission by Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis that law-breaking was on the cards, coupled with the international perception that Britain has gone rogue, has already hurt this country’s battered reputation – and caused considerable damage to the government’s standing in the eyes of voters.’