Majority of British public wants to hear Queen's views on Brexit

A majority of people polled by Ipsos in a survey for King's College London think that the Queen should publicly express her views on the EU referendum. The finding comes as the row continues over claims by The Sun newspaper that the Queen expressed opposition to the EU in a conversation with senior ministers including Nick Clegg, then Deputy Prime Minister, in 2011.

The telephone survey of 1,001 British adults carried out last month - before The Sun's story was published - finds that 51% thought the Queen should express her views in public on what outcome she believes will be best for Britain in the referendum on whether Britain should stay in the European Union or leave. However, 45% think that she should not; 4% don’t know.

There was no significant difference in views between those intending to vote that Britain should stay in the EU (51% think the Queen should speak out) and those who will vote to leave (54%) – in each case a narrow majority in favour of the Queen making her views known. But younger people are much more strongly in favour, with two-thirds (67%) of 18-34 year olds saying she should speak out. Only just over one in three, 35%, of those aged 55 and over think she should do so.

Roger Mortimore, Professor of Public Opinion at King’s College and Director of Political Analysis at Ipsos, said: “These findings will surely fuel the controversy over whether the Queen should make her views known on one of the most important decisions Britain has had to make in recent years. It is clear that many people want to know what she thinks. But if she were to abandon her position of public neutrality, that could have unforeseen effects on the constitutional position of the Monarchy which may not be welcomed.”

• Download the tables (PDF)

Technical note

• Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 1,001 GB adults by telephone on 13-16 February 2016. Data were weighted to match the profile of the population. The questions were included on Ipsos’s Political Monitor survey for February.
• The survey was conducted for the Polling Club at King’s College London. The Polling Club, run by Professor Roger Mortimore, allows students to increase their knowledge and understanding of survey research and public opinion by helping to design and analyse the results from a poll carried out by Ipsos. For further details about the Polling Club, contact Professor Mortimore at [email protected].