UCL & YouGov Brexit surveys

Polling ‘People vs Parliament’: What a new survey says about our constitutional mess

In a piece for politics.co.uk, Christina Pagel and Christabel Cooper analyse new polling data to show a country united in its worries about democracy but apparently divided over which aspects of democracy are in danger.

Christina Pagel is a Professor of operational research at UCL. Christabel Cooper is a data analyst.The YouGov survey was funded by UCL Grand Challenges.

What policy do British voters want on EU immigration? Is there a hidden consensus?

Very few British people know about restrictions on freedom of movement allowed under existing EU regulations. Yet when they learn about the EU’s “three-month rule”, two-thirds (64%) say it would provide “enough control” over EU immigration. And 67% say that they would support the introduction of ID cards if it meant the authorities could enforce restrictions applied in other EU countries. Tessa Buchanan (UCL), Lee de-Wit (University of Cambridge) and Alan Renwick (UCL Constitution Unit) discuss the findings.

The YouGov survey was carried out between 20 and 30 September as part of an ongoing programme of research into attitudes towards immigration involving Dr Lee de-Wit, Director of the Political Psychology Lab at the University of Cambridge; Dr Alan Renwick, Deputy Director of UCL’s Constitution Unit; PhD researcher Tessa Buchanan; and research assistant James Ackland. The programme of research is part-funded by grants from UCL’s Grand Challenges scheme and Cambridge University’s Psychology Department. The 2017 Citizens’ Assembly on Brexit was organised by the UK in a Changing Europe initiative, and led by UCL’s Constitution Unit.