Majority of UK Conservatives oppose May's Brexit deal - Reuters

According to reporting by Reuters, a survey of Conservative Party members within the UK details a majority of Tories that outright oppose Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit withdrawal deal.

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With less than three months until Britain leaves the bloc, May is yet to win parliament’s backing for her deal and the research may dent hopes that pressure from local members over Christmas might persuade Conservative MPs to support it.

The survey of 1,215 Conservative Party members found 59 percent opposed May’s deal, with 38 percent in favour. More than half of members questioned said they did not believe it respected the result of the 2016 Brexit referendum.

Asked how they would vote if another referendum were held to choose between May’s deal or leaving without a deal, just 29 percent said they would pick May’s agreement, compared to 64 percent who would opt for no deal.

“Grassroots Tories are even less impressed than Tory Members of Parliament (MPs),” said Tim Bale, Professor of Politics at Queen Mary University of London, who helps run the Party Members project.

May is seeking assurances from the EU over the so-called Irish backstop, an insurance policy to avoid a hard border between the British province and EU-member Ireland, which remains the main obstacle to securing the backing of parliament.