Most people in France, Germany, Italy and Spain would support UK rejoining EU, poll finds
The YouGov survey of six western European countries, including the UK, also confirms that a clear majority of British voters now back the country rejoining the bloc – but only if it can keep the opt-outs it previously enjoyed.
The result, the pollster said, was a 'public opinion impasse', even if there seems precious little likelihood, for the time being, of the UK's Labour government, which this year negotiated a 'reset' with the bloc, attempting a return to the EU.
YouGov's EuroTrack survey showed that at least half of people asked across the four largest EU nations – France, Germany, Italy and Spain – supported the UK being allowed to rejoin, with percentages ranging from 51% in Italy to 63% in Germany.
Asked whether Britain should be allowed back in on the same conditions it enjoyed when it left, including not having to adopt the euro currency and remaining outside the Schengen passport-free zone, the numbers changed significantly.
Only one-fifth of respondents across the four biggest EU members, from 19% in Italy and France to 21% in Spain and 22% in Germany, felt the UK should be allowed return as if it had never left, with 58-62% saying it must be part of all main EU policy areas.
The pollster stress-tested western European attitudes by asking whether, if the UK was only willing to rejoin the EU on condition it could keep its old opt-outs, it should be allowed to. Some (33-36%) felt this would be OK, but more (41-52%) were opposed.
In the UK, while 54% of Britons supported rejoining the EU when asked the question in isolation, the figure fell to just 36% if rejoining meant giving up previous opt-outs. On those terms, 45% of Britons opposed renewed membership.
The survey found that remain voters and those who backed more pro-EU parties would still broadly back rejoining if this meant adopting the euro and being part of the Schengen area, albeit at much lower rates.
Almost 60% of remain voters said they would support rejoining the EU without the previous opt-outs, down about 25 percentage points from the non-specific question, as would 58% of Labour voters (-23 points) and 49% of Liberal Democrats (-31 points).
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The percentage of Eurosceptic voters willing to rejoin without the previous special treatment more or less halved, falling from 21% to 10% among leave voters; 25% to 12% among Conservative voters, and 15% to 9% among Reform UK supporters.
The fifth continental European country polled, Denmark, proved an outlier. Respondents there were very keen (72%) for the UK to rejoin, and more enthusiastic than larger member states about it keeping its previous opt-outs (43%).
Denmark, however, is one of only three EU member states to hold opt-outs in major EU policy areas. The survey also found that large majorities in all five continental countries (63-75%) would support an independent Scotland joining the EU.
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South Wales Guardian
23 minutes ago
- South Wales Guardian
Schools told to make sex education ‘stage appropriate' as age limit plans axed
The Labour Government has recommended that primary schools teach sex education in Year 5 or Year 6, in line with what pupils learn about conception and birth, but it is not compulsory. Primary school teachers may decide to discuss the sharing of naked images or online sexual content if it is affecting their pupils and they know that children have seen pornography, according to the final statutory Government guidance on relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) in schools. Proposals to impose strict age limits on topics in the RSHE curriculum, proposed by the previous Conservative government, will not go ahead. Draft guidance, published in May last year under the Conservatives, had suggested sex education should be taught no earlier than Year 5. It had proposed for issues like sexual harassment, revenge porn, upskirting and sexual exploitation and abuse to not be taught before Year 7 (age 11), and for explicit discussion of sexual violence, including rape and sexual assault, to not take place before Year 9 (age 13). The draft guidance also said schools should not teach pupils about the concept of 'gender identity'. The final guidance on RSHE, which has been published a year after a consultation over the draft Conservative guidance closed, has not assigned specific ages to certain RSHE topics. Instead, it said schools should develop the RSHE curriculum to be 'relevant, age and stage appropriate and accessible to pupils in their area'. The Government guidance, published on Tuesday, said pupils should be taught the facts and the law about biological sex and gender reassignment. But on the debate around biological sex and gender reassignment, it told schools to be 'careful not to endorse any particular view or teach it as fact'. It said schools should avoid materials that use cartoons or diagrams that 'oversimplify' the topic, or which 'encourage pupils to question their gender'. The Department for Education (DfE) has said revised guidance for schools and colleges on gender questioning children is due to be published this summer. In her foreword to the updated RSHE guidance, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: 'The depth and breadth of views is clear, and there are understandable and legitimate areas of contention. 'Our guiding principles have been that all of the compulsory subject content must be age appropriate and developmentally appropriate. 'It must be taught sensitively and inclusively, with respect to the backgrounds and beliefs of pupils and parents while always with the aim of providing pupils with the knowledge they need of the law.' When asked about removing the plans for strict age limits for sex education, Ms Phillipson told the BBC: 'I think what parents want to know is that they'll be able to see what's being taught. 'There sometimes can be occasions where it's necessary to broach a topic a little bit sooner in response to something that might have happened within the school, but parents would be informed and involved on that.' The guidance said pupils should be given the opportunity to discuss the sexual norms endorsed by so-called 'involuntary celibates' (incels) or online influencers by the end of secondary school. It added that secondary school pupils should be taught about the prevalence of 'deepfakes' and how pornography can portray 'misogynistic' attitudes and it can present harmful activities as normal. Students should be taught that strangulation – applying pressure to someone's neck – is a criminal offence regardless of whether it causes injury. The guidance has also advised secondary schools to work closely with mental health professionals to discuss suicide prevention in an age-appropriate way. It added that schools should continue to share RSHE curriculum materials with parents on request. Since September 2020, relationships and sex education has been compulsory in secondary schools in England, while relationships education has been compulsory in primary schools. In March 2023, then-prime minister Rishi Sunak brought forward a review of RSHE guidance for schools after hearing concerns that children were being exposed to 'inappropriate' content. Schools in England will have to follow the statutory RSHE guidance from September 2026. Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders' union NAHT, said: 'We are pleased to see that there are no age 'limits' included in this new guidance. 'Schools already work hard to ensure that teaching is age-appropriate and this approach gives them the vital flexibility to respond to their own community and the needs of pupils in their schools.' But he added: 'NAHT has particular concerns that the inclusion of suicide prevention content has not been accompanied by a commitment from the Government to provide funded training for all teachers to give them both the knowledge and the confidence they need to discuss suicide prevention and self-harm with young people. 'The provision of training is vital before this content becomes statutory and it is unacceptable that the guidance simply says that schools should work with mental health professionals to discuss how this sensitive content should be tackled in the classroom.' Margaret Mulholland, Send and inclusion specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: 'We welcome the clarity over biological sex and gender reassignment in the guidance. 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So it's good to see the new RSHE guidance strongly encouraging primary schools to teach about diverse families, including same-sex parents. 'However, there are aspects of the new guidance that could make teachers feel even more anxious about what they can do or say to support all LGBT+ young people. 'If schools treat gender identity as something that is taboo, trans and gender diverse young people across the UK will feel further alienated and unsafe at school.'
Daily Mail
38 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
How a clairvoyant sparked ridiculous rumour that Brigitte Macron was born a man which social media fanatics believe IS true... as the French president's wife is once again forced to take legal action
As jets coloured the skies over the Champs-Elysees with trails of red, white and blue, Brigitte Macron stood at her husband's side, right hand clasping left, and stared out across the Bastille Day parade. Eight years as the first lady of France have taught Ms Macron the expectations of the job--and how to manage her image in public. Scrutiny follows how she looks, what she says and how she interacts with her husband when in the presidential spotlight. In her first formal post-election interview in 2017, she gently dismissed a question asking how she felt, as a feminist, about the incessant focus on her clothes: 'If it's good for French fashion, why not?' But it is difficult to imagine that Ms Macron, despite her careful presentation, was entirely unaffected by the libel case simmering in the background of Monday's Bastille Day parade. Scrutiny of one's public image is one thing. It is entirely another to question who they are. In the courts, Ms Macron has parried baseless claims by blogger Natacha Rey and self-proclaimed spiritual medium Amandine Roy that she was born a man and transitioned before marrying her husband. The pair were ordered to pay thousands of euros in damages last year, after their claims went viral and gained traction among conspiracy theorists in the United States. But last week, the Paris appeals court overturned earlier convictions. Dressed all in white for the Bastille Day celebrations on Monday, Brigitte Macron, undeterred, stood tall at her husband's side as her lawyer revealed she would fight the claims in court once more. It was three days before Christmas Day, 2021. Most of France was winding down for the holidays. But Mr and Ms Macron were otherwise preoccupied. Her lawyer announced that she would be launching legal action over the spread of false claims that she is a transgender woman who was born a man. Jean Ennochi, the lawyer, told Reuters that several individuals were in focus as the claims gained new momentum following the publication of a video on social media on December 10. The four-hour interview saw a journalist and a self-described medium discuss so-called 'evidence' surrounding claims Ms Macron was born Jean-Michel Trogneux. They spoke about surgeries she had allegedly undergone, aired pictures of her family, and scrutinised personal information belonging to her brother, the real Jean-Michel Trogneux. Ms Rey spoke about the 'state lie' and 'scam' they had uncovered, that the first lady of France had transitioned to become Brigitte and then married the president. She had not. But it did not stop the video being watched nearly 400,000 times and shared across social media as Mr Macron was gearing up for the 2022 presidential election. Ms Macron's office declined to comment at the time. She broke her silence, instead, three weeks later, after Christmas, as the world started to return to normal. Speaking to French radio, she said: 'If I do not address it, if I do not do anything after four years of working against bullying, I will not be listened to.' Brigitte Macron with her daughter Tiphaine Auziere, who spoke out about her mother's history in an interview with Paris Match Speaking on the RTL radio station - incidentally on her priority of tackling bullying in schools - was the first real opportunity to address the falsehood. 'There are three different elements to this story,' the first lady outlined in her comments to the nation. 'It starts with the originators of the story. In this case, they were women who apparently have been pursuing me for a long time – I don't know, I don't go there [on social networks]. 'Then, there are those who share and exaggerate what is being claimed. 'And finally there are, of course, 'the hosts,' she said, referring to the social media platforms themselves.' In the first camp was Natacha Rey, a journalist who claimed she was investigating Macron. On her Facebook page, there were posts implying that Ms Macron was a man dating back to March 2021. Matters came to a head in September of that year when she co-authored an ' investigation ' with Xavier Poussard for the far-right newsletter Faits et Documents (facts and documents), which he edited. The New Statesman observed at the time: 'Its pages, which do not draw heavily on either facts or documents, include one section on 'lobbies', which criticises the supposed influence of various interest groups, such as Jews, Freemasons and homosexuals.' The story existed for a few months before Ms Rey took it to medium Delphine Jégousse, alias Amandine Roy, for a four-hour interview. In the video published that December, she claimed to have evidence of the first lady's transition. She referred to an old Trogneux family photograph, in which Brigitte is seen as a young girl sitting on her mother's knee. Ms Rey said the girl was probably Nathalie Farcy, who was orphaned when Brigitte's older sister Maryvonne was killed in a car crash. She identified a boy in a checked shirt as Brigitte, not her brother Jean-Michel, claiming the child later underwent a sex change operation in the 1980s. The theory falls short; the birth of Brigitte Macron was recorded on April 13, 1953, in the Courrier Picard daily newspaper of the Picardy region of France. A notice reads: 'Anne-Marie, Jean-Claude, Maryvonne, Monique and Jean-Michel Trogneux have great joy in announcing the arrival of their little sister, Brigitte.' But the video was seen hundreds of thousands of times before being deleted, and the claims repeated tens of thousands of times on Twitter. At the same time, Ms Rey created a website with a contact form to address the presidency directly, and called for the bulk sending of messages to 'question Brigitte Macron en masse' about 'her brother Jean-Michel'. Things moved quickly. Within a month of Ms Macron's radio appearance, the pair were hauled in front of the civil courts for invasion of privacy. A criminal complaint for defamation was also filed by Ms Macron and her brother. Candace Owens on Tuesday said that she would be willing to bet her career that French President Emmanuel Macron's wife was born a man. The two women were ultimately found to have defamed Ms Macron by the Paris Criminal Court in September 2024, handed a suspended fine of €500 and ordered to pay a total of €8,000 in damages to Brigitte Macron and €5,000 to her brother. It had been a long wait for the verdict from the trial in June 2023. Ms Macron was not present for the decision. But a verdict was not enough to stop the rumours spreading and taking new form. Originally shared in the United States on sites like notorious disinformation hub 4chan, the claim snowballed when figures 'with very large audiences gave it visibility', doctoral researcher Sophie Chauvet, specialising in audience metrics, told the French AFP news agency. Prominent conservative commentator Candace Owens attacked the first lady in a now-deleted YouTube video posted in March last year, propagating the false claim. She cited a 'thorough investigation' by Rey, published in Faits et Documents in 2021. Why now? Emmanuelle Anizon, a journalist at the French weekly L'Obs, told AFP that the difference was that Xavier Poussard had started translating the newsletter's articles at the end of 2023. Anizon, who spoke to Poussard and his associate Aurelien Poirson who advised on the translation, explained that it was no accident that the US far right had taken up the false claim ahead of the November US elections. 'It was their dream to export this rumour across the Atlantic,' she said. Again, the rumour exploded online. Poussard published a 338-page book called Devenir Brigitte ('Becoming Brigitte') to run alongside it. The falsehoods fail to go away. Last summer, Reuters reported on a photograph of a young male model at a 2009 photoshoot in Russia, posted on social media to more speculation that the boy was, again, Ms Macron. This had no bearing on the original theory. But it did not seem to matter. Reuters contacted the photographer and revealed the image, of a male model in Moscow, not Ms Macron, had been altered. In February of this year, a cropped photo of the Trogneux family circulated on social media, prompting fact-checkers at Full Fact to resurrect the story of how the story emerged, was shot down and led to a successful defamation verdict. 'False and misleading posts like this can spread quickly online, so it's important to consider whether what you are seeing comes from a verifiable and reliable source before sharing on social media,' they advised. Nearly a year has passed, but the fiction still lingers over both the presidency and Ms Macron's personal life. On Thursday, the Paris appeals court overturned earlier convictions against the two women for spreading the false claim about Brigitte Macron. Judges sitting at the Paris Appeal Court ruled that Amandine Roy, now 53, and Natacha Rey, 49 and a blogger, had every legal right to make the allegations. Both had claimed they were subjected to 'intimidation by the authorities' as 'ultra protected' members of the Paris establishment tried to cover up a 'state secret'. Lawyers for Ms Macron, 72, in turn indicated that she was 'devastated' by the development, and would be taking the case to France's Cassation Court. As her lawyer relayed her intentions to the press on Monday, Ms Macron stood before the nation for Bastille Day and watched as jets left trails of red, white and blue overhead. She stood at her husband's side, right hand clasping left, and it was impossible to know what she was thinking.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Aviation staff need disability training, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson says
Airline and airport staff should be better trained to support disabled passengers, a Government-commissioned review led by Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson has found. The Paralympian and crossbench peer said the 19 recommendations put forward by her taskforce should be 'turned into action' which puts accessibility 'at the heart of aviation'. The Aviation Accessibility Task and Finish Group called for disability awareness training to be rolled out across all aviation roles, including airline crew, assistance providers, ground services, security and hospitality staff. It highlighted a need for passengers to access information easily about their travel, including how they can request and book assistance, where they can find in-airport support services, and detailed guidance on how their mobility aids will be transported. The taskforce also called for passengers to be able to find transparent information on complaints procedures. The group will now work to help ensure its proposals are adopted by airlines, airports and regulator the Civil Aviation Authority. Lady Grey-Thompson said: 'This report is the next critical step in making air travel more inclusive for disabled people. 'I'm grateful for the commitment the industry has shown to making change and breaking down barriers in aviation for everyone, bringing freedom to travel, whether for leisure or work, and to connect with friends and family. 'We know there's more work to be done, and I look forward to seeing these recommendations turned into action which truly puts accessibility at the heart of aviation.' Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: 'Everyone should be able to travel with dignity and be respected at every stage of their journeys, including disabled passengers. 'That's why we established this group in November last year, and I welcome this report's findings which will clear the runway for greater accessibility in aviation.' Tim Alderslade, chief executive of trade body Airlines UK, said carriers are 'committed to removing barriers so that flying is accessible to all', and will support the 'implementation of these recommendations'. Karen Dee, boss of industry group AirportsUK, said the report will 'build on the work already being done by airports, and the wider sector, to ensure air travel is accessible to all'. In June, BBC journalist and wheelchair user Frank Gardner was forced to wait 95 minutes for a medical lift so he could leave an aircraft that had arrived at Heathrow's Terminal 5. The airport apologised and said the delay was caused by its assistance provider responding to a medical emergency, which reduced the number of vehicles available.
