New research has revealed that those British expats who do choose to vote in this month’s Brexit referendum will vote overwhelmingly for the UK to remain in the EU.
According to a poll of more than 4,500 expats, around 71 per cent are set to vote to stay in the EU with just 23 per cent planning on voting to leave – the remaining 6 per cent are still undecided.
The perceived economic benefits of remaining in the EU is the major driving factor behind the stay voter’s decision, with 84 per cent stating that they believe the UK will be better off if it remains as part of the Union.
A further 74 per cent believe that the UK would have to comply with extra trade rules if it left the EU but still wanted to trade with its members, while the UK’s increased global standing (71 per cent) and increased national security (68 per cent) were among the other top reasons given by those who want to remain.
Conversely, economic factors were also among the biggest fears for those who state they will vote to leave the EU, with 68 per cent of ‘leave’ voters believing that the UK would be economically better off if it leaves the Union.
Being free from EU bureaucracy was the highest chosen benefit (80 per cent) among leave voters, while being able to renegotiate better trade deals was also given as a key benefit (72 per cent).
The research also found that even expats who are not eligible to vote in the forthcoming referendum also strongly back remaining in the EU. A whopping 82 per cent of expats who are not eligible to vote under the current regulations would choose to vote to stay in the EU if given the opportunity.