Blog: Rishi Sunak’s Brexit deal slammed by readers as ‘smoke and mirrors’ – Express

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s new Brexit deal received overwhelming support from MPs in a Commons vote on Wednesday, despite a rebellion from 22 of his backbenchers led by former Prime Ministers Boris Johnson and Liz Truss. Yet a new Express.co.uk poll has shown four in five readers opposing it.

The vote on the implementation of the Stormont brake section of the Windsor Framework passed with 515 votes to 29, giving a strong 486 majority in favour of the deal.

A source inside the European Research Group (ERG) warned that seeing this as a victory for Mr Sunak is “bonkers”, due to the abstaining from 48 Tory MPs.

READ MORE: Full list of every MP that voted against Rishi Sunak’s Brexit deal

In a poll that ran from midday on Wednesday, March 22, to 2.45pm on Thursday, March 23, Express.co.uk asked readers: “Do you support Rishi Sunak’s new Brexit deal?”

A total of 2,616 votes were cast, with the vast majority, 82 percent (2,957 people) answering “no” they do not support the new deal.

Some 17 percent (607 people) said “yes” in support of Mr Sunak’s deal, and just one percent (52 people) said they did not know.

Hundreds of comments were left below the accompanying article as readers debated the effectiveness of the Windsor Framework.

Many readers argued against Mr Sunak’s deal, with username bugshead writing: “No, it’s a rubbish deal and the EU will continue to control Northern Ireland.”

Similarly, username xand said: “No UK citizen who believes in the United Kingdom being an independent state can in any way support this new deal which in effect allows a suede joint sovereignty arrangement in all but name with the EU.”

Username Dogglebird commented: “Smoke and mirrors by Sunak. I don’t support this arrangement because it doesn’t resolve the issues but it does keep Northern Ireland partly in the EU’s domain yet with no democratic say or control.”

Meanwhile, username Robert Ward said: “In all honesty, I don’t know what to think of this new deal.”

And username JohnJBrown remarked: “It’s a better arrangement than the one we have now.”