POLL: 94.8% of people responding now prefer NOT to buy EU27 goods or services

Are the EU’s actions towards the UK turning British consumers away from EU27 imports?

© Facts4EU.Org 2021

Nevertheless, EU27 countries remain the preferred holiday destination for most respondents

Starting on Bank Holiday Monday (31 May 2021), Facts4EU.Org launched an online survey to determine whether the EU’s relations with the UK since Brexit have altered British people’s buying habits. We advertised the poll widely on social media in order to draw a cross-section of views from those who voted to leave the EU and those who voted to remain. Many tens of thousands of people had the chance to participate and over 1,400 did so.

The poll closed yesterday (04 June 2021) and the results are shown below. They are quite emphatic.

A growing worry for EU27 businesses?

Even if a disproportionate number of respondents to our poll were Leave voters,
the percentages of those now preferring not to buy from the EU27
should be very worrying for EU27 businesses

Today we present the results of our “British Consumers Poll”

Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

Opinion poll of British consumers regarding the buying of EU27 goods and services

Overall, 94.8% of respondents are now either ‘completely’, ‘much less’ or ‘less’ inclined to buy EU27 goods or services

  • Food & drink : 94% prefer NOT to buy EU27 products
  • A new car : 86% prefer NOT to buy from the EU27
  • Going on holiday : 73% prefer NOT to go to an EU27 country

Nevertheless, holidaying in EU27 countries was still the first choice of the majority (68%) who expressed a preference, closely followed by the most popular second choice, which was holidaying in the UK (65% of all second choices).

This seems to back up the strong anecdotal evidence that British people still have very friendly feelings towards the people of the EU27 countries.

Holidaying in the EU is fine. The people there are fine.

It is the EU's bureaucrats and political leaders who seem to be the problem.

© Brexit Facts4EU.Org - click to enlarge

Given a choice of countries supplying the range of goods and services we asked about, the responses were:

Food & drink products - preferred country of origin

  • 95.1% preferred UK as first choice
  • 86.2% put Commonwealth as second choice
  • 81.2% put the rest of the world as third choice
  • 63.4% put the EU as fourth choice

Going on holiday - preferred destination

  • 68.0% preferred EU27 as first choice
  • 64.9% put UK as second choice
  • 48.0% put Commonwealth as third choice
  • 43.3% put the rest of the world as fourth choice

[Statistical note: Facts4EU.Org website poll conducted 31 May - 04 June 2021. 1,412 respondents, drawn from social media at large.]

What do the official statistics say about EU sales to the UK?

As the Office for National Statistics reported in their latest trade bulletin:

“Quarter 1 2021 is the first quarter since records began in January 1997 that imports of goods from non-EU countries are higher than from EU countries.”

- Quarterly bulletin on UK trade, ONS, 12 May 2021

Comparing Q1 2021 with the same quarter two years ago in 2019, the EU’s share of goods exports to the UK has fallen from 55.9% to 48.7%. We must wait to see if this a prolonged drop or simply a short-term effect, but the results of our new survey today do seem to suggest that there is adverse British consumer sentiment growing, about buying EU27 goods and services. The really interesting question is: why?

The important question for EU27 businesses is: “Why are our sales to the UK dropping?”

For those British consumers in our survey who said they were less likely – or much less likely – to buy EU27 goods and services, here are the top reasons given. Our question was:-

“If your choices above have been negatively impacted by the EU’s dealings with the UK since the EU Referendum, please rank the reasons below.”

Here are the reasons given, with the highest proportion of responses for each of the 1st to 6th choices :-

  • 63.4% of 1st choices: Unhappy with EU Commission’s overall negotiations and dealings with UK
  • 31.0% of 2nd choices: EU Commission’s legal actions against the UK
  • 30.3% of 3rd choices: EU’s strict application of new export rules at borders and ports
  • 26.8% of 4th choices: Unhappy with individual EU27 leaders’ actions or statements
  • 25.8% of 5th choices: Impacts on GB and NI arising from EU’s application of Northern Ireland Protocol
  • 22.6% of 6th choices: Fisheries and French actions at ports and in Channel Islands

STOP PRESS

Top story in the Daily Express

In today’s online version of the Daily Express, our report above is the lead story.
You can read it here.

Observations

For some time we have been aware of an increasing number of people saying that the EU’s relations with the UK since Brexit have caused them to rethink their buying decisions in favour of UK suppliers or those from other non-EU countries.

Whilst our poll falls into the category of ‘self-selecting’ rather than being a purely random survey, the results are so powerful that there seems to be no question of the strength of feeling in the United Kingdom. Pro and anti-EU respondents were equally able to complete the survey, and we made efforts to encourage all sides to participate, as we stated in our introduction.

In a further measure to ensure balance we placed the pro-EU options for the multiple choice answers above those which express disinclination to buy from the EU27 countries. We also left the poll open for more than four days to allow time for the link to the poll to be sent out by both pro and anti-EU individuals and groups.

Even accounting for an element of ‘self-selection bias’, these results must come as a wake-up call to businesses in the EU27 countries that the actions and statements from the EU Commission, EU Council, and EU Parliament have not endeared the traditionally fair British public to the EU in general.

We have seen no evidence of any negative feelings by UK citizens towards the citizens of EU27 countries – it is the actions and words from the ideological leaders of the bloc that have caused an apparent backlash. Facts4EU.Org has observed many former ‘Remainers’ becoming ardent ‘Brexiteers’, as a result of the way the UK has been treated.

Is the UK Government standing tall enough?

Many people have expressed views to us along these lines: “If the Government won’t stand up to the EU, then we’ll do it with our credit cards, cheque books, wallets, and purses”.

We have neither seen nor heard anyone wish ill-will to EU27 citizens, nor anyone express a wish that people in the EU27 should lose their jobs, but the frustration and exasperation that many British people feel is undoubtedly going to have an economic impact across the EU.

Will the EU powers start behaving reasonably towards the UK if they see their exports falling? We are not holding our breath. The ‘European Projekt’ drives all before it in its ideological blitzkrieg. A departing member must be punished and must fail, or it jeopardises the entire edifice. If EU27 businesses and citizens suffer, so be it. They must be sacrificed for the greater good of an eventual United States of Europe.

One only has to look at the way the EU has sacrificed the hard-won Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement, completely destroying its consensual nature which took years to achieve, to see how the EU will use anything to achieve its ends.

We can only hope that pressure will start to be brought to bear on the EU’s power blocs by ordinary citizens and businesses in EU27 countries. Something needs to change, and fast, or a serious re-alignment of the UK’s national interests will ultimately be the outcome and the UK will slowly pivot away from the EU edifice.

We very much hope that sense will prevail in Brussels, but for six years we have been predicting that this would never happen thanks to ideological extremism. Sadly our views are unchanged today.

Yes, 'ordinary people' CAN make a difference

Many people like you, our readers, have expressed their profound concerns about the current state of democracy and the direction where this great country of ours is headed. Brexit Facts4EU.Org continues to work behind the scenes - in addition to what you read on our website and in social media - to pressure the Government and MPs.

It has always been everyday people like you who made it possible for Facts4EU.Org to exist and to provide this service. We present facts-based research that most of the MSM fails to provide, and through that give a voice to a more common-sense approach that is shared and sought by so many people, still not being heard as it often differs from the 'party line' or 'right thing to say'.

Yes, you can do something and we hope you will. Please help us out with a donation today, so we can keep fighting for a free, truly independent, and sovereign United Kingdom and research and publish facts presented in a way you won't see anywhere else.

We do not have corporate funders, which makes our monthly planning more difficult, but it means we are not directed by a confined number of donors. We only take directions from our widespread readership - most of you very well informed - by listening to things you say.

Please support our work to enable us to carry on with our research and publishing, thank you. We badly need your help. You will not be badgered by us for more funds, unlike some organisations! Quick, secure, and confidential donation links are below this article, or you can use our Donations page here.

[ Sources: Facts4EU.Org survey | Office for National Statistics ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Sat 05 Jun 2021

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