The majority of Brits would support the creation of a European army that included the UK – apart from Reform UK voters, according to new data.
As the Trump administration pushes to secure a peace deal in the Ukraine war, US officials have repeatedly told the continent it needs to be more responsible for its own security and less dependent on the States.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy subsequently said the “time has come for a European army to be created”, adding: “Our army alone is not enough, we need your support.”
So pollsters at YouGov asked 7,300 Brits would support or oppose setting up such a European army this week.
When including voters from across the political spectrum, slightly under half (46%) said they backed it while 28% opposed it.
But, when looking at just Labour voters, 58% supported it – a similar proportion to the 59% of Lib Dems who backed the idea, while 47% of Tories backed the concept of a European army.
But it was Reform UK voters who lagged much further behind, with just 28% supporting it.
In fact, the majority of Reform UK (55%) voters opposed the idea altogether – compared to 35% of Tories, 17% of Labour voters, and 16% of Lib Dems.
Reform are the most pro-Donald Trump party in the UK right now and its leader Nigel Farage is a close friend to the US president.
Reform UK’s deputy Richard Tice was even torn apart on live TV last week for backing the US after its defence secretary Pete Hegseth said Ukraine should cede occupied territory to Russia.
Reform UK are also still leading in the opinion polls. YouGov found the party are on 27%, while Labour is behind is 25% and the Tories at21%.
The Lib Dems lag behind on 14%, the Greens on 9% and the SNP on 3%.
YouGov’s findings have been revealed as the government has called for Europe to “step up” its defence.
Defence secretary John Healey told the Institute for Government on Tuesday: “This is a government whose commitment to defence is unshakable.
“It’s the foundation for our plan for change, for the delivery of our government’s missions.
“We will match sustained investment with serious reform. It will mean growing the economy.
“It will mean a more muscular defence for a more dangerous world. It will mean a Britain which is secure at home and strong abroad.”
However, the “more muscular defence” could cause more trouble among the electorate, as YouGov discovered most Brits do not want to increase defence spending if it means tax increases.
YouGov found 55% would oppose paying more tax to increase the sector while less than third (30%) would support it.