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Three-fifths of people in Wales think we would be better off economically in Europe – and a majority want to stick with the Single Market.

A new Brexit survey shows 59% of WalesOnline and Western Mail readers believe Britain will be better off economically inside Europe. As well as this, 62% said Britain should continue to be part of the single European market.

The figures show a split between those who voted Leave and those who voted Remain in the referendum. Among Leave voters, 8% think Britain is better off economically in Europe, while nearly a quarter of these voters (22%) think we should continue to be part of the Single Market.

(Image: Matthew Horwood)

Remain voters are, unsurprisingly, much more likely to think continuing close ties with Europe are a good idea, with 90% saying Britain is better off economically inside Europe and 86% saying we should continue to be part of the Single Market.

Seven in ten of those surveyed on the site (69%) said they were not happy with the status of Brexit negotiations at the moment, with just one in six (16%) saying they were happy (the rest weren’t sure).

Regardless of how those surveyed voted in the referendum, they were more likely to be unhappy than happy with the way negotiations are going.

Are you happy with the status of the Brexit negotiations at the moment?

Among those who said they voted Leave, 49% are unhappy with the status of negotiations compared to 31% who were happy. More than three-quarters of those who voted Remain (81%) said they were unhappy, compared to 6% who said they were happy.

However, most of those surveyed said they would still stick with how they voted – 88% of Leave voters and 93% of Remain voters. Leave voters were more likely to say they would not vote in the same way now, with one in 16 Leave voters saying they’d act differently (6%) compared to one in 23 Remain voters (4%).

The study, run in partnership with Google Surveys, was completed online by 2,300 people who visited the WalesOnline website.

(Image: PA)

The survey also asked 8,200 readers of Johnson Press and Trinity Mirror sites in Northern Ireland about customs controls at the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, with 67% saying they would not be acceptable.

Among Leave voters, 53% said customs controls would be acceptable, with 34% saying they would not be acceptable, while 85% of Remain voters said such controls would be unacceptable.

At a UK-level, the wider survey of almost 220,000 readers of Johnson Press, Newsquest and Trinity Mirror websites found 52% believe Britain would be better off economically inside Europe, and 56% said Britain should continue to be part of the single European market.

Welsh Ukip MEP Nathan Gill saw the strong support in Wales for staying in the customs union as evidence of the work of “project fear”.

He said: “It’s been relentless.”

Mr Gill argued that the UK could not claim to have left the EU if it remained bound by the regulations that come with single market membership.

Do you think we should still be part of the single European Market?

He said: “We won the referendum. We had the debate and it was very clear from that that people wanted us to leave the EU.

“And the number one issue for the referendum [was] around immigration. Well, if we stay in the single market we will have no control whatsoever of our immigration...

“[We] know that there must be no membership of the single market and no customs union with the EU whatsoever. We want to be able to trade with the entire world and the Prime Minister and the Queen have hosted this summit of the Commonwealth leaders, and they’ve all agreed that we want to have trade deals, [but] if we stay in a customs union none of that is going to happen because [if] you’re in a customs union you can’t do your own trade deals...

“If we go for so-called Brexit lite it’s not Brexit. There are only two options – we either leave or we don’t.”

(Image: supplied pic)

However, Plaid Cymru Carmarthen East and Dinefwr MP Jonathan Edwards strongly supports the UK staying in the single market and he urged the Prime Minister to change course on Brexit.

He said: “She doesn’t seem to be very enthusiastic about the whole project.

“And obviously it’s something that’s landed on her desk and she’ll be defined by it one way or the other...

“When it comes to the next general election after the transition period, [the] electorate aren’t going to thank people for an interpretation of the vote in the referendum that’s proven to be economically reckless.

“The Prime Minister is not going to be thanked for implementing what we term a hard Brexit or an extreme Brexit if it proves to be economically damaging... “It would make far more political sense to take the less economically damaging option and stay within the two key economic frameworks...

So, if I was the Prime Minister I know what I’d do.”

Do you believe Britain will be better off economically inside or outside of Europe?

Liberal Democrat MP Tom Brake is pushing for a “binding vote” on customs union membership, saying: “Reality is hitting home.

Leaving the Customs Union will hurt British jobs and public services and cause huge problems on the Ireland border.

“Parliamentarians realise this, Government must catch up. The government must now come forward, at the first opportunity, with a binding vote.”