In this passage based cloze question, choose the word that best completes the clause "a sizeable majority of British voters ____________ reaffirm their faith and confidence in a united Europe."

Introduction / Context:
This cloze question completes another part of the Brexit passage: "Not so long ago, virtually everyone seemed confident that a sizeable majority of British voters ____________ reaffirm their faith and confidence in a united Europe." You must choose the auxiliary that correctly fits the reported belief about a future event as seen from a past viewpoint.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The clause in focus is "a sizeable majority of British voters ____________ reaffirm their faith and confidence in a united Europe".
• The options are "would", "will", "should", "surely", and "might".
• Earlier in the sentence we have "seemed confident that", which introduces a that-clause about what people expected to happen.
• The Brexit referendum was in the future at that time, but is now being discussed as a past expectation.

Concept / Approach:
When we report what people expected or believed about the future from a past point in time, we commonly use "would" instead of "will". For example, "Everyone thought that the team would win" (not "will win") when describing past expectations. Here, "seemed confident that ... would reaffirm" is the correct reported structure. "Should" expresses duty or moral obligation rather than simple prediction. "Surely" is an adverb and cannot fill the auxiliary position before the base verb "reaffirm". "Might" expresses a weak possibility, which conflicts with "seemed confident that".

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Note the earlier phrase "seemed confident that", which introduces a reported prediction about the future. Step 2: In reported speech about the future from a past perspective, "would" is the natural auxiliary, as in "thought that it would happen". Step 3: Try the sentence with "would": "seemed confident that a sizeable majority of British voters would reaffirm their faith and confidence in a united Europe." This is grammatically correct and semantically accurate. Step 4: Try "will": "seemed confident that ... will reaffirm". Mixing past "seemed" with "will" sounds less natural in formal writing because "will" is anchored to the present speaker's point of view, not to the past viewpoint described. Step 5: Try "should": this would suggest obligation, as if voters ought to reaffirm their faith, not that people expected they actually would. Step 6: Try "surely": this is an adverb and cannot directly precede the bare infinitive "reaffirm" in this slot. Step 7: Try "might": it expresses only a weak possibility and clashes with "seemed confident", which suggests strong belief.

Verification / Alternative check:
Compare similar sentences: "They were confident that the team would win", "Analysts believed that inflation would fall", "People expected that the talks would succeed." In all these examples, "would" expresses future in the past. Replacing "would" with "will" or "might" changes the time reference or the strength of expectation. Returning to the Brexit passage, "would reaffirm" is the only form that fits both tense and meaning correctly.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
"Will" is sometimes used in informal speech, but in careful written English and exam cloze tests, it is considered incorrect here because of the past reporting verb "seemed". "Should" introduces a sense of duty, not prediction, which is not what the passage conveys. "Surely" cannot function as an auxiliary verb and does not form a grammatical clause by itself. "Might" suggests weak possibility, which contradicts the strong confidence described earlier. Therefore, these options are inconsistent with the passage's tone and grammar.

Common Pitfalls:
Many students instinctively choose "will" when talking about future events and do not adjust for reported speech from a past time. Others may be confused by "should" and treat it as a weak synonym for "would", which it is not. To avoid such mistakes, remember the pattern: past reporting verb + "that" + subject + "would" + base verb for future in the past. This structure appears frequently in editorials and exam passages about expectations that were later proven wrong, as in this Brexit example.

Final Answer:
The clause should read "a sizeable majority of British voters would reaffirm their faith and confidence in a united Europe."