𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Campaigners for Britain rejoining the European Union have been dealt a blow with new polling showing support will plummet if the UK is required to ditch the pound and adopt the euro. Nearly half (49%) of people polled by YouGov for pro-Brexit group Britain Unbound said a requirement to use the euro would make them less likely to support rejoining the EU – with a further 11% saying it would make no difference as they were already opposed.

Officially, all EU member states except Denmark are required to “adopt the euro and join the euro area”. Just 5% of respondents said they would be more likely to support rejoining if it meant switching sterling for the euro. The polling also found four out of 10 people would be less likely to support renewed EU membership if interest rates would be set by the European Central Bank rather than the Bank of England.

The European Commission states: “Adopting the single currency is a crucial step in a member state’s economy. Its exchange rate is irrevocably fixed and monetary policy is transferred to the hands of the European Central Bank, which conducts it independently for the entire euro area.”

Steve Wright, director of Britain Unbound, said: “The very notion of rejoining the EU under the obligations that would have to exist is a complete non-starter. The UK needs to move on from the continued navel-gazing and attempts to reverse majority decisions, and instead focus on taking advantage of the opportunities that Brexit has handed back to the UK people.”

Former Health Secretary and potential Labour leadership contender Wes Streeting has said he wants the UK to “one day” rejoin the EU. Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham – who is expected to run for the leadership if he wins Thursday’s Makerfield by-election – has also said he wants the UK to rejoin, although he has since stated the “last thing we should do right now is re-run those arguments”.

Economist Julian Jessop, a member of Britain Unbound’s executive committee, said: “There is now a mountain of evidence that support for rejoining the EU crumbles when the costs and conditions are revealed. We Brits still value our sovereignty and do not want to hand control back to Brussels.”

Former Chief Brexit Negotiator Lord Frost said: “[Every] time the British people are asked to contemplate the real conditions for rejoining the EU, the supposed majority for it evaporates. And rightly so.

“British voters voted against membership for good reasons even on the terms available at the time. Why would we want to go back on conditions that are even worse?”

Conservative peer Lord Redwood said: “Voters remember the high costs and taxes and the anti-business regulations when we were in the EU. Our growth rate halved as members compared to the 20 years before we joined. Why inflict more self harm? Why volunteer for higher taxes to pay for EU big bills and growing debts?”

There is no strict timetable for when EU states must join the eurozone. Eight of the 13 member states who became members states since 2004 have joined, with Bulgaria adopting the single currency at the start of the year.

Joe Meighan, of the European Movement UK, said: “Any future discussion about the UK’s relationship with the European Union would involve a wide range of issues, from trade and security, to education, mobility and economic cooperation. Membership of the euro is just one element of the whole question. It is certainly not a given. The reality is that the UK is a long way from meeting the economic conditions required for euro adoption in any case, given current levels of government debt and borrowing.”