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Theresa May heads to a crucial European Union summit this month with six in 10 Britons believing she will fail to get a good Brexit deal.

An exclusive poll by Ipsos MORI reveals that just 37 per cent are confident she will succeed for the country in the negotiations.

The findings come almost exactly a year after the Prime Minister triggered Article 50 on March 29, 2017, to send Britain hurtling towards the EU exit door and set ministers scrambling to negotiate a new relationship with their former partners.

Mrs May’s current score is markedly lower than it was when she signed the Article 50 letter last March.

A similar survey by Ipsos MORI that month found 51 per cent of people were expecting failure.

But a silver lining for the Prime Minister is that voters are more confident in her than in Jeremy Corbyn to get a good deal.

Moreover, the Conservatives have a strong lead over Labour as the party best suited to handle future relations with the EU, chosen by 37 per cent, compared with just 25 per cent who would rather Mr Corbyn was at the table in Brussels.

The Conservatives also have substantial leads over Labour for running the economy (41 to 25) and championing British business (43 to 25), which will boost Tory hopes that the party can pull clean ahead of the Opposition when Brexit is over and the political focus turns to domestic issues.

Today’s research suggests that more voters support Mrs May on leaving the customs union than oppose her.

Asked whether the UK should have the freedom to strike trade deals outside the EU in the next five to 10 years — even if that results in barriers to trade with EU states, which is the Government’s position — some 49 per cent agreed.

Asked if free trade with the EU was more important, even if that meant being unable to strike deals with countries such as the US and China, 36 per cent agreed. London was the only region in Great Britain where people chose to prioritise EU trade, probably reflecting the capital’s cosmopolitan population and the importance of services exports to the EU, which generate a £17 billion surplus.

More than half of people in the capital — some 56 per cent — said keeping up trade with the EU was better for Britain.

Only a third of Londoners said the right to free trade deals with countries outside the EU would be in the country’s interests. In the North of England, support was reversed, with just 23 per cent prioritising trade with Europe, and 64 per cent wanting free trade deals elsewhere.

Business groups and the Treasury agree that trade with the European market of 500 million consumers is more beneficial to the British economy. Last month Sir Martin Donnelly, who was permanent secretary of the Department for International Trade until March 2017 said quitting Europe’s trade bloc was like swapping a three-course feast for “a packet of crisps”.

Gideon Skinner, head of political research at Ipsos MORI, said: “Britons lack confidence in both Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn to get a good deal for Britain, but the Prime Minister’s party still has the edge overall when it comes to Brexit.”

Ipsos MORI interviewed 1,012 adults across GB by telephone from March 2 to 7. Data are weighted. Details at ipsos-mori.com