EU ‘vaccine brinkmanship’ leads to soaring Brexit support

Support for Brexit has been on the up thanks to the European Union’s ‘vaccine brinkmanship’ during the pandemic. 

More than 67% of Britons in a new poll by JL Partners via Bloomberg have said that they felt the EU had behaved in a ‘hostile way’ towards Britain during the vaccine rollout, which has further eroded Europe’s image with the public including remain supporters. 

In fact, the controversial export ban which has already led to vaccines being blocked for Australia has had ramifications for the EU’s image with Britons and businesses alike. With companies like Novovax having signed deals to produce its vaccine in Britain and several other countries before the EU, speculation has mounted that the EU is now seen as ‘a difficult customer’ – leading to longer delays in procurement and getting vaccine deals for the bloc. 

For Brexit, the news is good, as support continues to rise with Brits seeing the success of its national rollout outpace its neighbours. If a referendum on EU membership was held today, 54% of adults stated they would vote to leave, advancing the Brexit vote another 2 percentage points. 

Despite the difficulties in the initial months for cross border trade, and in particular in Northern Ireland, Brexit favourability has been on the rise. As Britain also unlocks its economy further today with the opening of non-essential retail, in stark contrast to Europe, which is enduring further lockdowns, Brexit support could see continued growth over the summer.

The question remains, how will Europe recover its public perception as Britons regain their freedom months ahead of EU citizens in Brexit Britain?