Almost half of the British public now hold strong anti-immigrant views, according to new research.
A major study by YouGov found 48 per cent of Britons share authoritarian populist attitudes in findings that reveal the spread of fringe political views into the mainstream, Buzzfeed News reported.
Researchers said the figure was calculated despite less than 20 per cent of people identifying themselves as right-wing.
It comes just days after Prime Minister Theresa May signalled Britain is hurtling towards a so-called "hard-Brexit" with a promise to crackdown on immigration and reassert British sovereignty.
The survey – which polled more than 12,000 people in 12 European countries – found almost half of all Europeans now lean towards nationalist views.
In France, 63 per cent of people surveyed held authoritarian populist opinions while in Italy the figure was 47 per cent.
Meanwhile, in Germany just 18 per cent of people revealed anti-immigrant leanings.
The highest levels of authoritarian populist views were recorded in eastern European countries Romania and Poland - where they were held by 82 per cent and 78 per cent of adults respectively.
Joe Twyman, YouGov’s head of political and social research for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, told Buzzfeed News: “These results show that the old days of Left versus Right have been replaced by a much more complicated, nuanced mix of political groupings, with profound implications for politics across Europe.
“Any political party or movement that can successfully appeal to those of an authoritarian populist leaning could benefit hugely when it comes to elections.”
Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage told the website that the research shows people in all countries feel let down by “an anti-democratic political class attempting to build a United States of Europe”.
He said: “This is not a matter of the old labels of left or right. In the past both left and right were rooted in place, but no longer.
“The governing political class across this continent doesn’t like the Europe in which it lives, holds its people in contempt and would prefer to sit in executive lounges than engage with those whose work pays their wages.
“That is why you are seeing increasing disillusion with a failed EU project that is now doomed. Brexit was just the beginning.”
