UK Trade: EU more important than US according to Brits
New polling from The Good Growth Foundation has found that Brits consistently rank Europe as more important to the UK than the US, following the election of Donald Trump as president. The comparison is particularly stark on growth and the economy, with 58% agreeing that Europe is more important in terms of trade and 56% believing Europe is more important economically. In contrast only 27% view the US as more important in terms of trade and 29% think it is more important economically.
The findings come after the Governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, asserted that the UK must “rebuild relations” with the EU. During his Mansion House speech, Carney stressed that Brexit has impacted trade and “weighed” on the economy. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, also highlighted the need for the UK to “reset our relationship” with the EU.
The results indicate that only Reform voters rank the US as more important to the UK than Europe in categories including trade, economics, foreign policy, politics and diplomacy. Across the political spectrum, all other parties’ voters see Europe as more important - including Conservatives.
Where the public is more divided is on how the UK’s relationship with the US should change, following the recent election of Donald Trump as president. Many want to see a closer relationship with America in terms of economy, trade, diplomacy, and foreign policy. However, the country is roughly divided into thirds on whether the relationship should become closer, more distant or remain the same. Furthermore, 39% think the UK should have a more distant relationship with the US politically, compared to 30% who think the UK should have a closer relationship and 22% who think the relationship should remain the same. Concerns regarding potential Trump tariffs appear to be reaching the public, with 43% saying the UK should forge a closer trading relationship with the US, compared to 26% believing the country should be more distant. Women are also more likely than men to believe the UK should distance itself from the US following the election of Trump and less likely to believe the relationship between the countries should become closer.
There has been discussion of how the UK should align in the event of a potential trade war between the US and EU. Following the election of Trump, 48% of Brits agree that the country should focus more on its relationship with the EU; only 18% believe we should focus on our relationship with the US. Yet, most Brits (57%) believe that it is in the UK’s best interests for our Government to be close with the US Government and 49% believe the Labour Government should set their own politics aside to pursue a strong working relationship with the Trump administration.
“Our research shows that politicians of all stripes should remember post-Brexit Britain is not anti-Europe.The public recognises the importance of maintaining a solid relationship with the US, but dislikes Donald Trump and can see the UK’s future is dependent on our relationship with Europe. Whether it be on trade, politics, economics or diplomacy - Europe is largely recognised as Britain’s most important ally.”
Methodology
The polling data was gathered by JL Partners.
Fieldwork: 13th to 14th November 2024
Sample size: 2,024 GB Adults
Sampling mode: Online panel sample
Quotas and weights: Quota-ed and weighted to be representative of Great Britain on age, gender, region, education, 2024 general election vote, ethnicity and political attention.
