Half of Europeans think Britain will leave the EU "but poll shows all of them think their country should stay in" – by Vince Chadwic

BREXIT

Half of Europeans in eight EU countries think Britain will vote to leave in the June 23 referendum, according to a poll published Monday.

The Ipsos MORI survey also found that almost half of those questioned think their country should follow Britain’s lead and hold a referendum on EU membership.

The online survey of between 500 and 1,000 adults under the age of 65 in eight countries, plus the U.K., found 45 percent want an EU referendum, and 33 percent would vote to leave if given the choice today.

In Italy, 48 percent would vote to leave in a hypothetical referendum, compared to 41 percent in France and 39 percent in Sweden. Only 22 percent of Poles and 21 percent of Spaniards would vote to go.

“A topic that unifies [Poles] to a large degree is our membership of the European Union,” Polish President Andrzej Duda told Polsat news in a recent interview. “There are no serious politicians today who say that we should leave the European Union.”

Do you think your own country should hold an EU referendum?

 

Blue Yes - Red No
 In the event of an EU referendum in your own country, how would you vote?

Blue Remain: Red: Opt out

SOURCE: Ipsos MORI Brexit poll May 9

Read more: Half of Europeans think Britain will leave the EU – POLITICO

Brexit: Britons Will Be Poorer if They Leave E.U., Government Asserts - by Stephen Castle

Great Britain or Poor Britain?

The British government outlined the central argument on Monday it hopes will persuade voters to stay in the European Union, publishing a detailed economic analysis finding that Britons will be poorer if they quit.

The release of the publication by the Treasury, complete with complex algebraic calculations, is an important moment before a referendum, to take place June 23, on whether Britain should end more than four decades of integration and quit the 28-nation bloc.

Those who oppose a British withdrawal from the European Union, known as “Brexit,” say that it would inevitably lead to economic uncertainty and deter investment, and that it could complicate ties with the bloc, the country’s biggest trade partner.

On Monday, the government put a number on that claim, asserting that, under one midrange situation, annual economic output would be 4,300 pounds, around $6,100, lower per household if Britain left than if it stayed in the bloc.

.In any event, the chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, said at a speech in Bristol, England, that the country “would be permanently poorer if it left the European Union” because “we’d trade less, do less business and receive less investment.”

Mr. Osborne, who with Prime Minister David Cameron is campaigning for Britons to vote to remain, added: “The price would be paid by British families. Wages would be lower, and prices would be higher.”

Those advocating an exit, including dissenters in the governing Conservative Party, quickly dismissed the analysis. Andrea Leadsom, a government minister who used to work in the Treasury, called it “extraordinarily biased.”

The release of the document highlights the quickening tempo of the referendum campaign, which officially began last week.

And it precedes a visit to Britain this week by President Obama, who is expected, if asked, to endorse continued British membership in the bloc but to note that it is a decision for British voters.

Note EU-Digest: the other disaster that looms for Britain in case they leave the EU, is that Scotland has indicated they want to remain in the EU and will secede from the United Kingdam if they leave the EU.

Read more: Britons Will Be Poorer if They Leave E.U., Government Asserts - The New York Times