Conservative party members would happily support the break-up of the UK, “significant damage” to the British economy and even the destruction of their own party in order to secure Brexit, a poll has found.
The study by YouGov found that the governing party’s membership, now thought to number just over 100,000 people, will single-mindedly stop at almost nothing to take Britain out of the EU.
With the party’s leadership contest under way to select the next prime minister, the survey of members found that 46 per cent of them would be happy to see Nigel Farage at the helm of the Tories. A further 13 per cent said they would be ambivalent, while 40 per cent said it would not be a good thing.
Sixty-three per cent of members said they would be prepared to accept Scottish independence to get Brexit, while 59 per cent said the same about a united Ireland. Just 29 and 28 per cent were opposed, respectively.
“Significant damage” to the UK economy was also no deterrent, with 61 per cent in favour and 29 per cent opposed. Some 54 per cent said the Tory party’s complete destruction would still be a price worth paying for Brexit.
Thirty-six per cent of party members – a somewhat higher number than for the other consequences – said their own party’s destruction would not be a price worth paying.
The only thing Conservative members said could make them abandon Brexit was if that stopped Jeremy Corbyn becoming prime minister. Thirty-nine per cent said they would still go ahead with Brexit if it meant the socialist moving into Downing Street, but a majority – 51 per cent – thought Labour taking power would be a bridge too far.
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-poll-tory-members-uk-economy-scotland-northern-ireland-yougov-a8963391.html
Parliament agreed to implement the results ( leaving the EU) further agreed to implement article 50 to get the process under way,
That does keep being very conveniently forgotten lemongrove.
I'm sure a list of those who voted against triggering Article 50 has been posted before on GN - and it was a very small number of MPs.
Not such a small number - 122
www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/feb/09/mps-voted-against-brexit-bill-full-list
who did not vote for Brexit or voted against it
A more disingenuous statement you'd be hard pushed to find but typical of the author.
GG54 perhaps you could elaborate on that statement. It's true that Leavers (and Remainers for that matter) do not constitute a majority of the eligible population - 17.4 million out of 46.8 million eligible voters is 37%
GillT57 "I feel completely disenfranchised, as if my views do not matter" - you would prefer those who voted to leave be disenfranchised?
Their views are as valid as yours - the majority of those who chose to vote were in favour of leaving. If someone chooses not to vote on something so important - then how can their views be counted.
GabriellaG54, you're right to point out the problem with echo chambers.
You've said that "many of the numbers" that people "quote are quite ridiculous but massaged to suit the narrative". Be interesting to hear which particular numbers you mean and to have your thoughts on what the "real" numbers should be.
Even better......stop all the ridiculous number crunching!
The referendum three years ago (!) came out in favour of the UK leaving the EU.
Accept it and move on.
GG54 you are not stupid, you know what I meant. The fact remains that NOBODY in the leadership race is taking into account the huge amount of people who did not vote for this. Nobody has talked of how they are going to square the circle, they are all aiming their speeches at the ERG and Brexit Ltd trying to 'out Brexit' them all, trying take the hardest approach. We remainers do matter you know, even if some on here sneeringly tell us to accept it and move on.
You can’t square a circle.
sigh
GillT57 The majority of those who voted did so to leave. Of those who chose not to vote - how does anyone know how they would have voted.
You have already asked that wadesnan, so I will reply. Yes, a small majority of those who voted chose to leave, but a huge number of people did not choose to leave. Whether this was because they voted no, or because they did not vote for whatever reason ( not that I am supporting people who do not vote), these people, a significant majority, need to be recognised and acknowledged. All anyone talks about is 'the will of the people', well, it wasn't the will of all the people and I do feel disenfranchised, as if my future does not matter.
But GillT57 how do you know that those who didn't vote would not have voted to leave? If they chose not to vote then how can their views be counted.
The party who won the most votes in the last local election was not the party I voted for - does that mean that I have been disenfranchised or should I accept that more people wanted the winning party
A frequently used argument wadesnan but in a GE or a local election we only have to put up with a result we didn't want for a few years not for the rest of our lives.
how do you know that those who didn't vote would not have voted to leave?
WE don't. We may have heard reports of people who said that they didn't vote at all, but would have voted Remain, because they thought that Remain was a foregone conclusion.
It was a tenet of Common Law that 'silence gives consent' so it might imply that non voters weren't bothered about changing the *status quo*; if they'd been bothered they would have voted. Which favours Remain, of course.
GG54 and Lemongrove
Surely you can accept that many things have changed over the last 3 years. I don't suppose that in June 2016 many people thought that factories were going to be closed.
They did not expect the possibility that parts of the NHS would be hived off. Warrington Hospital has extended its price list for those operations that people will have to pay for. These include hip and knee operations, d & c, hernia operations and many more.
They thought the UK would gain back its sovereignty without realising that we are and have been for hundreds of years a sovereign nation.
They thought that there would be an end to immigration without realising that we need immigrant workers, if for nothing other than doing the jobs that we won't do.
And so on and so on.
Leavers are frozen in time. In spite of the relentless promotion of liar Farage by the BBC for many year before 2015 only 5% of UK voters put our membership of the EU as their main concern.
Then, after the concerted efforts of NF, the loony wing of the Tory Party, the right wing press and shady foreign influencers, this number increased, until on one crucial day three years ago, 17 m out of our population of 66 m, were fooled into voting for this brexit nonsense.
Since then we have started to learn much more about the benefits of our EU membership and the problems and dangers of any kind of brexit, and so the majority of UK voters have consistently told pollsters that they want to remain in the EU.
Move on. Wake up to the reality. Reject this brexit nonsense. It is in the interests of all of us in the UK to remain in the EU.
GillT. Excellent post! ?
Varian. ?
Watch the moment a pro-Brexit MP warns 'Mr Stop Brexit' that he is signing his "death warrant."
The video shows well known anti-Brexit protestor Steve Bray holding two placards and wearing a Union Flag with EU stars on and top hat.
The exchange, which took place on Tuesday afternoon, appears to show Mr Bray greeting Mr Francois in the street and making a jest about Boris Johnson
In response to this, the Conservative MP turns around an addresses Mr Bray saying "do you know what?
"Steve, in the nicest possible way, we're signing your death warrant."
www.lbc.co.uk/news/mark-francois-anti-brexit-comments/
If there was a competition for the most charmless and offensive Tory MP, surely Mark Francois would win?
In a very crowded field of fools and incompetents and generally unpleasant people filling the HoC, Mark Francois is an outstanding example. More worryingly, there are people who voted for him.
???varian
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