Theresa May has been given a Brexit-related boost after it emerged that a majority of UK voters back the prime minister's 12-point plan to split from the EU.

A YouGov poll, of more than 1,600 people between 17 and 18 January, found that only 19% of the public think the Brexit May described at Lancaster House on Tuesday would be bad for the UK.

More from IBTimes UK

The research also found that 62% of the respondents thought May's plan to drop membership of the EU's single market would respect the referendum result.

"Theresa May has passed her first Brexit test: she has managed to define a form of Brexit that the majority of the country can get behind," said Anthony Wells, director of political research at YouGov.

"Getting the rest of Europe to agree to those proposals may be a more difficult challenge."

The polling comes just around two months before May plans to invoke Article 50, the mechanism to break from Brussels, and trigger talks with the EU before the end of March.

But unfortunately for the prime minister, only 20% of UK voters think that the EU will agree to the Brexit deal she wants, while 56% of respondents think they will not.

French politician Michel Barnier will lead negotiations for the EU Commission, while former prime minister of Belgium and senior MEP Guy Verhofstadt has been appointed the chief Brexit negotiator for the EU Parliament.

May addressed the 47th World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Thursday. The prime minister stressed that the UK would become even more "global and internationalist in action and in spirit" after Brexit.

But Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has warned that May's plans could lead to a "bargain basement Britain".

"At every opportunity, the Conservatives have given handouts to the wealthiest and cut taxes for big business – while refusing to provide vital funds for the NHS, cutting social care and ditching rights at work," he said.

"Theresa May's vision for Brexit is now clear: a bargain basement Britain on the shores of Europe based on low pay and deregulation.

"This week we heard the Prime Minister threaten to turn Britain into a tax haven, slashing corporate taxes and workers' rights in an all-out race to the bottom.

"People won't be taken in by warm words. This Conservative Government is backed to the hilt by wealthy elites, lines the pockets of its friends and resists all practical steps to make a fairer Britain work for all."

May's 12-point Brexit plan

  1. Government will provide certainty and clarity to politicians and businesses.
  2. UK will 'control our own laws' by quitting the European Court of Justice.
  3. May will strengthen the 'precious union' between England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
  4. There will be no hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
  5. UK will 'control' EU immigration, while recruiting the 'brightest and the best' from around the world.
  6. Government will seek a reciprocal residency rights deal for EU and UK workers 'as soon as possible'.
  7. May has promised to protect workers' rights.
  8. Ministers will seek a 'bold' and 'comprehensive' free trade agreement with the EU.
  9. UK will seek a customs agreement so that it can broker its own trade deals with non-EU nations.
  10. May will keep European science and innovation ties in bid to keep the UK a 'world leader'.
  11. UK will continue to work with the EU in bid a bid to combat the threat of terrorism.
  12. Ministers will seek to avoid a 'cliff edge' and seek a smooth split from the EU.
Brexit European Union Theresa May Jeremy Corbyn