"underlying opposition" is a correct and usable phrase in written English
It can be used to describe a hidden or fundamental disagreement or resistance in a situation or relationship. Example: The success of their marriage was constantly hindered by an underlying opposition from their families, who disapproved of their union due to cultural differences.
Underlying the opposition is the fragile economics of ranches and small farms, which are already disappearing.
The former Democratic member said that underlying the opposition is the sense that little good will come of it.
CERTAINLY the members of Young Israel of New Rochelle discern a more implacable opposition underlying the land-use debate.
The committee, which many members will no doubt jockey to join, was the underlying cause of opposition to the bill by some on both sides.
Federal Reserve officials, led by Daniel K. Tarullo, a Fed governor, have pushed to make more information public about underlying conditions, despite opposition from bank executives.
Underlying Jefferson's opposition to a strong central government was the fear that such a government would be dominated by commercial and banking interests — as is the case today — whereas those are the classes that Hamilton championed.
While both of these images take the idea to the ridiculous, in my judgment, I do believe that the underlying attitude behind opposition to the Act is the feeling that to live in the 21st century is to lead a life that is persistently intruded upon, either by government or business or technology or, perhaps worse, some inchoate force we can't yet describe or define.
I suspect that underlying much of the opposition to the West Side stadium is a cultural distaste for football fans, not the wealthy ones but the working-class fans associated with images of beer drinking and tailgate parties.
Tory scare stories of a Labour-SNP deal will have aggravated jitters among undecided voters, but that kind of tactic only works when it plays to underlying weakness in the opposition offer.
