Nearly nine years on from the narrow Brexit referendum result, which saw the UK leave the European Union, most Britons want to see the UK return to the EU.
A new YouGov poll highlights the extent to which the UK public is ‘Bregretful’ about the outcome of the vote, which ended David Cameron’s time as prime minister.
It found that 56 per cent want the UK to return to being part of the EU, while 61 per cent believe Brexit has been a failure.
Of these, the overwhelming majority, more than eight out of ten, blame Boris Johnson and the Conservative Party, while more than two-thirds blame Nigel Farage.
Mr Johnson was one of the most high-profile members of the ‘Leave’ campaign but he and others were accused of backing the idea with no plan for what Brexit would look like in practice.
The UK’s exit from the bloc is on course to cut UK trade by 15 per cent, the government’s independent financial watchdog has warned, despite Vote Leave campaigners arguing it would receive a boost.
Earlier this year, Labour ministers pledged to “tear down” barriers to trade with the European Union after new figures showed Brexit has cost UK business £37bn a year.
And The Independent revealed that Brexit had created a “mind-blowing” two billion extra pieces of paperwork – enough to wrap around the world 15 times.
The latest survey found 56 per cent of people also think it was wrong for Britain to vote to leave the EU.
And almost two-thirds, 65 per cent, now want to see a closer relationship with the EU
However, just 28 per cent of Tory voters and 16 per cent of voters for Mr Farage’s Reform UK want to rejoin the EU.
It will be nine years since the landmark Brexit referendum vote next week.
Sir Nick Harvey, CEO of the pro-EU group European Movement UK, said that since the UK left the EU “the consequences for the British people have become increasingly stark. This latest polling not only reinforces that – it shows that more and more people see the benefits of much closer ties with the European Union.
“Brexit has delivered a sustained and worsening blow to the UK economy, one that is especially pronounced for the small and medium-sized enterprises that form the backbone of our commercial and industrial landscape, who are living with the consequences every day. That has made us all poorer, depleted our economy and weakened our country with a thousand tiny cuts.”
Matt Smith, from YouGov, said: “When we asked what type of relationship with the EU people would support, most Britons said they want the UK to return to the EU (56 per cent )…. This does not include many of those who voted to leave it in the first place (24 per cent ) or Conservative (28 per cent ) or Reform UK voters (16 per cent ).
“Despite the support for ‘Breturn’, many people feel the government has more important matters to deal with. 44 per cent said attempting to re-join the EU would be the wrong priority right now, when balanced against the other issues the UK is facing, compared to 37 per cent who believe it would be the right priority.”
The survey asked 2,239 adults in Britain between June 16 and 17.
