EU referendum: Remain retakes the lead in referendum campaign, according to new poll
When Prime Minister David Cameron returned from Brussels having secured agreement on his reforms, the odds looked to be stacking up against him on whether or not he would be able to convince the British public to remain in the EU.
A number of ministers came out in support of Brexit, many MPs slated his reforms and the public were edging closer to backing Brexit.
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But now, a new poll has found, the Remain camp has regained its footing and tiptoed past Leave, garnering more public support in the first two weeks of campaigning.
As Cameron made his way back to the UK after making a deal the deal between 18-20 February, campaigning kicked off with a YouGov poll showing the race nearly neck and neck: Leave had 38 per cent of the vote and Remain had 37 per cent.
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But in the 10 days after, YouGov conducted regular polls to determine the relative success of the campaigns in this early stage of campaigning. Remain has had four consecutive leads, averaging 40 per cent since 25 February, while Leave has averaged 37 per cent.
Stephan Shakespeare, YouGov’s chief executive, said: “The remain side has won the first two weeks of this campaign. As attention is turning away from Cameron versus Boris and towards the bigger issues at stake, it is fear of the unknown that is dominating minds.”
YouGov found people had stopped focussing on key figures, and had become occupied by issues such as whether Brexit would put upward or downward pressure on wages, or warnings from France that leaving the EU could jeopardise Britain’s border at Calais.