A growing majority of Britons now think that Brexit was a mistake, a new poll by the British Polling Council shows, but it’s still too soon to say that people want the 2016 decision to leave the European Union overturned.
The new poll, presented by Professor John Curtice, president of the British Polling Council, showed that only 43% of the British population consider Brexit a good decision, while 57% now believe it was a mistake.
The results are a significant shift from the 2016 referendum which had 52% of the population in favor of leaving the EU.
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“Probably Brexit is now less popular than it has been at any point since June 2016,” said Curtice, who also noted that the shift started in the autumn of 2021 when a shortage of about 100,000 lorry drivers left many of the country’s companies and consumers unable to purchase imported goods, bringing them to terms with some of the real-world costs of the departure.
Other drivers of the shifting trend also include the cost-of-living crisis and a growth in pro-EU support from the younger generation who joined the voting population after the 2016 referendum.
Curtice noted that the Labour party is unlikely to reopen talks about EU membership or rejoining the common market before the next election, which isn’t until January 2025, for fear of scaring voters.
The opposition will not want to lose the momentum they have gained since the Conservatives have gotten themselves into trouble removing two controversial Prime Ministers in such a short span of time.
The pollster says that the Tories “have lost ground because the public in general have decided they cannot be trusted to run the country.”
“History suggests that it’s going to be extremely difficult,” Curtice said, referring to the Tories catching up to the Labour party which now has an average lead of 30 points. “No government that has presided over a financial crisis has eventually survived at the ballot box.”
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