Brexit vs. Bregret

Jul 20 2023 YouGov UK

Britons would vote to rejoin the EU

Politicians in the UK still talk about making Brexit work, of rosy Brexit opportunities, and of global Britain, whatever that means.

This is probably because they are politicians, and not Statesmen; a Statesman will tell people the truth, however unpleasant, a politician will always try to distract and spin something positive.

The UK public, on the other hand, has already seen through the spin and the lies. YouGov data shows that,

‘Bregret’ stands at highest level recorded to date…

… most Britons would now vote to Remain were the EU referendum being held again, and likewise would vote to rejoin the EU if such a vote were being called.

A majority of Britons (55%) say that, were the EU referendum taking place now, they would vote to Remain. Three in ten 31% say they would vote to Leave.

Currently, 57% of Britons say that the country was wrong to vote for Brexit in 2016 – the highest figure YouGov has recorded to date. By comparison, one in three (32%) think it was the right call.

Seven in ten Britons (70%) say the government is handling Brexit badly, including 83% of Remain voters and 58% of Leave voters.

The interesting thing here is that, if you look at the charts, you can see a trend starting from early 2022, i.e. after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Maybe the public intuitively sees what the politicians do not; that the original idea behind the EU was common European security. The tool to achieve that was the integrated economy.

When the public already sees the underlying idea, the politicians still seem to be talking about the tool.

Since the invasion, the EU, as an institution, has grown stronger, not weaker, and its popularity among Europeans has grown.

At the same time, in Brexit Britain, Bregret has seriously started to come out of the woodwork, and the UK politicians would be wise to publicly acknowledge that, and maybe do something about it.