On 29 January the polling organisation Yougov published a poll to mark the fifth anniversary of Britain leaving the EU. Its results make for interesting reading. The headline is that 55% of those polled now think that Brexit was a mistake, while just 30% think that it was the right thing to do. When you take out the don’t knows and others this equates to about 65% saying that Brexit was a mistake compared to 35% thinking it was the right thing to do.
Yougov also note that, “one in six Leave voters (18%) now say that it was wrong for Britain to choose to leave the EU, although 66% still say Britain made the right decision. By contrast, just 7% of Remainers now think it was right for the UK to leave, compared to 88% who still think a vote for Brexit was wrong”.
Predictably, 80% of Reform UK voters still think that leaving the EU was the right decision, but this is neatly mirrored by 80% of both Labour and Lib Dem voters thinking it was a mistake. 29% of Conservative voters now think it was a mistake, while about twice that amount. 60% think it was the right thing to do.
When asked about how Brexit has gone so far, the results are even starker. 62% of Britons feel that Brexit has gone badly, compared to 11% of those who feel it has gone well. When taking out those who opted for don’t know or neither, this results in a remarkable 85% thinking that Brexit has gone badly compared to just 15% thinking that it has been a success.
When split up into party support, only 27% of Reform UK voters think that Brexit has been a success, while almost as many, 24%, think that it has been a failure. Meanwhile 83% and 79% of Labour and Lib Dem voters respectively think that Brexit has been a failure with only 2% Labour voters and 1% Lib Dem voters thinking it has been a success.
What kind of relationship do Britons now want with Europe?
Yougov has noted the following:
“With many Britons having judged Brexit to have gone poorly, it is unsurprising that there is clear support among the public for a closer relationship with the EU. Indeed, only 27% of Britons support the UK’s relationship with the EU remaining where it is.
“The option with the broadest support is Britain having a closer relationship with the EU without formally rejoining any part of it. Nearly two-thirds of Britons (64%) would support such a policy, including 60% of Leave voters and 53% of Reform UK voters.
“But a full rejoining of the European Union is not far behind, with 55% of Britons saying they would support a complete undoing of Brexit. In fact, the 39% of the public saying they ‘strongly support’ Britain rejoining the EU outnumber the 33% who say they oppose rejoining to any degree.
“Around half of the public (48-50%) would also support Britain rejoining the Single Market and Customs Union, options opposed by just one in five Britons (20-21%).”
What about the north?
It has been well documented that the north of England voted heavily in favour of leaving the EU, so how do people here feel about it now?
When asked about their top three concerns, the NHS was placed top by people in the north and Britain as a whole, with both groups registering 57% putting it in their top three concerns. 52% of those in the north put the cost of living as one of their major concerns, while other major concerns include crime, immigration and asylum, defence, the economy, housing and the environment and climate change.
As for Brexit, 31% of those polled in northern England said it was right to leave as opposed to 52% of those who think that it was a mistake.
When asked If the 2016 referendum on UK membership of the European Union was being held now, how would you vote, 32% of those in the north said they would vote to leave with 52% saying they would vote to remain. Taking out those who opted for don’t know or would not vote, this would leave the north voting 62% to remain as opposed to 38% to leave the EU.
Looking to the future
We can only hope that this survey might give the government food for thought when they consider how to reset our relationship with the EU. Given that there is clear support for rejoining the Single Market and indeed the EU as a whole, shouldn’t the Labour government be moving faster to reintegrate us with the EU?
The full results from the Yougov polling are here.
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