This report summarises the results and key findings across two comprehensive public opinion surveys carried out by YouGov on behalf of Best for Britain in March and April 2025, in the lead up to the UK-EU Summit held on 19 May 2025.
The reported findings provide an in-depth assessment of public attitudes towards all aspects of UK-EU relations, ranging from how Russia’s war in Ukraine is changing Brits’ views towards the EU, through to public support for the specific policy compromises emerging from the UK-EU Summit.
The results reinforce the notion that on UK-EU relations, the electorate’s views are arranged into two distinct voting blocks. Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green Party supporters now share characteristically similar levels of support for a closer relationship with Europe both generally, and across specific policy areas.
Conversely, Reform UK and Conservative supporters harbour the most Euroscepticism, though they display a large variation in levels of support and opposition for closer EU relations depending on the specific policy topic. This suggests that among both Reform UK and Conservative supporters the ideologically driven, binary view of European relations has been replaced by a more nuanced assessment of the merits and drawbacks of each policy issue, on a case-by-case basis.
The results described in this report found that trade, the UK economy and migration topped the list of areas Brits wanted to see prioritised both at the UK-EU Summit, and by the UK Government generally. However, the results suggest the British public continue to be sceptical about whether improvements in UK-EU relations will translate to tangible improvements to their daily lives.
The results indicate widespread support for the policy areas that were successfully advanced at the UK-EU Summit, such as the Defence and Security Partnership, Youth Experience Scheme, Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement, and to a lesser extent, environmental policy. Furthermore, the results also identify public support for regulatory alignment with the EU across a number of policy areas that were not advanced at the UK-EU Summit, including medical goods, construction products, and children’s toys.
As detailed negotiations and further UK-EU Summits take place, ongoing support for closer, more pragmatic UK-EU relations will depend on the British public feeling the benefits. Matching the British public’s growing expectations on both pace of progress and delivery will benefit the UK Government and EU Commission in equal measure.
The Data
Polling and research commissioned by Best for Britain. All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc.
The first survey, presented in section 2 (‘Background’) of this report, included a total sample size of 2,187 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 19th - 20th March 2025, and the survey was carried out online. The figures were weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).
Data tables published by YouGov.
The second survey, presented in sections 3-6 of this report, included a total sample size of 4,703 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 31st March - 2nd April 2025, and the survey was carried out online. The figures were weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).