Voters 'in absolute despair' about MPs' handling of Brexit, new poll warns

Voters are in “absolute despair at the whole political class” over the way Brexit is being handled, hard-hitting new research has found.



A new study of more than 2,000 voters carried out by focus group firm Britain Thinks found that 83% agree “the entire political establishment has failed the country on Brexit” - with just 9% disagreeing with that statement.

One angry member of the public told the study: "There was an opportunity for the politicians to show that they can do something... it feels too late now."

Another said politicians "don't have a clue".

The study, carried out between 18-20 January will also make for grim reading among Labour’s top team, with 69% of those asked agreeing with the statement that Jeremy Corbyn is “more concerned about party politics than the national interest”.

Three in five voters (61%) now say that their impressions of Mr Corbyn have got worse since the EU referendum - a figure only topped by the 68% who say their perception of “The British Parliament” as a whole has worsened. Just 10% of those polled said their view of Mr Corbyn had improved.

Meanwhile, 45% say that Theresa May is more concerned about party politics than the national interest as the embattled Prime Minister fights to save her Brexit deal following an historic Commons defeat.

Almost half (49%) of those asked said their impression of Mrs May had gone down since 2016, while just 17% said it had improved.

The study also reveals widespread confusion about the detail of Mrs May’s agreement, with only 38% of those saying they have “a good understanding of the deal that Theresa May has negotiated” with the EU.

And a big chunk - 73% - say that Britain’s focus on Brexit “has significantly hampered our ability to deal with other major issues facing the country."

Britain Thinks - which is led by Gordon Brown’s former pollster Deborah Mattinson - said the findings showed "absolute despair at the whole political class, with Brexit seen as a distraction from more urgent issues".