A majority of UK citizens would vote to rejoin the European Union (EU) if a second Brexit referendum was to be held, according to the findings of a new poll.
A YouGov survey of more than 2,100 adults in the United Kingdom released on Tuesday showed that 51% of respondents are in favor of re-establishing ties with the EU, with just 32% saying that they support the 2016 vote to leave. The percentage of people seeking a reunion with Brussels has risen by 11 points since 2021, when London formally withdrew from the bloc.
Some 57% of Britons, meanwhile, said that the UK made the wrong decision in the 2016 referendum. This is the highest-tallied figure of anti-Brexit sentiment noted among UK citizens to have been recorded by YouGov. The data also indicates that one in five people who voted to leave would now vote to remain in the EU.
Seven years after the Brexit referendum, many of the economic benefits promised by its most ardent campaigners have yet to bear fruit. The UK remains in the grips of a cost-of-living crisis, while recent inflation figures have shown rises at a faster pace compared to other major European countries.
British holidaymakers also continue to experience extended delays and longer queues at European airports, largely due to strict EU border controls. Elsewhere, food prices in the UK have risen due to supply chain logistical issues, as well as a reduction in the availability of migrant workers.
A UK trade deal with the United States, championed as one of the major economic benefits of Brexit, also remains out of reach despite Prime Minister Rishi Sunak formalizing the so-called ‘Atlantic Declaration’ with Joe Biden’s administration in Washington last month.
The gloomy outlook on post-Brexit Britain reflects comments made by Nigel Farage in May. Speaking to the BBC, Farage, who was a central figure in the campaign to leave the EU, said that “Brexit has failed.” He added that its implementation had been poorly handled by the ruling Conservative Party, which Farage said had “let us down very, very badly.”
These comments appear to place Farage within the 63% of its poll respondents who said that Brexit has been more of a failure than a success, according to YouGov’s data this week. Just 12% said that they see Brexit as a success, while another 18% were undecided.