Most Britons want both single market access and immigration curbs

The majority of people in Britain want both access to the EU single market and significant restrictions on EU immigration, according to a new survey that underlines the dilemma facing the government as it prepares for Brexit.

Only 18 per cent of the roughly 1,400 people polled by the National Centre for Social Research said the UK should not impose limits on immigration from the EU.

Some 85 per cent of those who voted to leave the EU said they wanted to control immigration; as did 55 per cent of those who voted for Britain to remain. Around 12 per cent were undecided.

At the same time the report found that more than nine in 10 people wanted Britain to have access to the European single market — regardless of how they voted.

That apparent discrepancy demonstrates Theresa May’s challenge as the prime minister attempts to curtail EU immigration without jeopardising the UK economy.

Freedom of movement is a key element of the single market and several EU leaders have said it is a non-negotiable requirement for full access.

Forced to choose between the two priorities, voters questioned by NatCen opted by the narrowest of margins for immigration controls.

Some 49 per cent thought freedom of movement for EU citizens should be kept if it enabled the UK to keep free trade — with 51 per cent opposed — roughly in line with how the public voted on June 23.

John Curtice, senior research fellow at NatCen, suggested that the widespread distinction between “soft Brexit” and “hard Brexit” was belied by the data — with widespread support for measures identified with both camps.

Mrs May has always rejected that binary terminology, insisting that she will be able to achieve a tailor-made arrangement for the UK involving both immigration controls and good trade deals.

NatCen found that nearly two-thirds of all voters — 65 per cent — believed British companies should continue to comply with EU regulations on the design and safety of goods.

A similar proportion believe that there should be a deal on “passporting”, with British banks allowed to do business in the EU in return for letting European banks do business in the UK. A big majority, 89 per cent, believed that all EU citizens already living in Britain should be allowed to stay.

All of those three policies would be characterised as part of a “soft Brexit”, said Prof Curtice, who is one of Britain’s most respected pollsters.

But there was also strong support for the type of policy associated with hard Brexit: including customs checks, an end to NHS healthcare for EU visitors to Britain and passport checks between Britain and Ireland.

Prof Curtice said that the typical voter backed options from both alternative “menus”.

“The kind of deal that is most likely to prove electorally popular is one that maintains free trade but permits at least some limits on EU migration,” he said.

“That, of course, is the deal that many in the EU insist will not be possible. In those circumstances, the UK government will be faced with a tough choice.”