Six out of 10 Britons want to keep their EU citizenship after Brexit –
including the rights to live, work, study and travel in the EU, with many prepared
to pay large sums to do so, according to research by the London School of
Economics and polling firm Opinium which surveyed more than 2,000 respondents.
85% of 18 to 24 year-olds want to retain their EU citizenship in
addition to their British citizenship. Around 80% of people living in London
also want to maintain the same rights. Young people in particular were “very
unhappy” at the prospect of losing rights they regarded as fundamental and
crucial to their future prospects.
The average sum they would be prepared to pay to retain EU citizenship
was more than £400 (more than the contribution to the EU budget that UK
citizens each currently make).
73% of voters would like either to protect or extend the rights that
current citizens from other EU countries have to vote in the UK; 48% wanted to
see the right to vote extended from local elections to general elections, while
25% wished to keep the status quo. Only 10% supported the government’s position
of withdrawing EU citizens’ right to vote in local elections.
In a speech to the LSE, the director-general of the CBI,
Carolyn Fairbairn, paints a grim picture of the impact that Theresa May’s plan
to leave both the single market and customs union will have on the UK economy. “In the last 40 years, EU integration has cut
through complexity, making things simpler for business. The single market means
one single set of rules for the whole EU – saving Europe’s 22 million firms
time and money, while the customs union lowers even more barriers to trade. Even
for something as everyday as a loaf of bread, EU rules cut through the
complexity – and make things simpler for business and clearer for consumers.”
Source: Poll finds that 60% of Britons want to keep their EU citizenship: The Guardian, 1st July 2017
