THE UK should rejoin he EU – and Brexit has been a failure thanks to Boris Johnson and the Conservative party, according to a new poll.
As the ninth anniversary of the EU Referendum approaches on June 23, polling company YouGov surveyed more than 2,200 people to find out what they now thought of Brexit – and what should happen in the future.
The results show a significant change in opinion in those nine years – with 56% of those polled saying it was ‘wrong’ for Britain to vote to leave. Just 31% said it was the right decision. Of Leave voters, 68% still believe they made the right choice.
In 2016, the south west voted to Leave – although there were some voting areas which polled to remain; including Bath & NE Somerset and Mendip in the Somerset region.
Across all voting areas in Somerset – Bath & NE Somerset, Mendip, North Somerset, Sedgemoor, South Somerset, Taunton Deane, and West Somerset – with more than 550,000 votes cast, Leave secured 52.33% (288,122 votes), with Remain on 47.67% (262,459 votes).
So, in theory, if 68% of Somerset Leave voters maintain their vote was the right choice, that would mean 32% do not. Translated into a vote, that shift would reduce the 2016 vote to 195,922 (68% of 288,122). So, a rather crude analysis of the YouGov poll could indicate a solid win for Remain were a referendum to take place today – even if none of those former Leave voters actually switched their vote to Remain (262,459) and simply did not vote.
It’s a crude indicator, but compared to the national trend of the YouGov survey, it seems fair to conclude Remain would win a UK-wide referendum today – handily.
Who do Britons blame for Brexit going badly?
The survey found 61% of people believe Brexit has been more of a failure than a success, with 20% saying it has neither been a success nor failure and just 13% seeing it as more of a success.
And who do they blame that failure on? The Conservative party and Boris Johnson came out top of the list, with 88% and 84% respectively laying the blame at their door.
Two thirds attribute blame to prime ministers Theresa May (66%) and Rishi Sunak (64%), with a similar number saying so for Nigel Farage (67%).
Just one in three (37%) of those surveyed blame the European Union for Brexit going badly, including 60% of Leave voters.
Keir Starmer (28%) and Labour (39%) come in for less blame, as does the UK civil service (30%).
What kind of future relationships with the EU would Britons support?
But what of rejoining the EU?
Nine years on from the Brexit poll, the YouGov survey found almost two thirds of Britons now want to see a closer relationship with the European Union (65%), including the majority of Leave voters (60%).
And most Britons (56%) would go further – and actually want to see the UK return to the EU. Of Leave voters, almost a quarter (24%) want to see us rejoin.
Is returning to the EU a priority?
However, the poll showed most people do not see rejoining the EU as a priority. A total of 44% said attempting to return to the EU fold would be the wrong priority for the government right now, when balanced against other issues. But 37% believe it would be the right priority.
Should there be another referendum – and when?
Britons are divided on whether or not there should be a rejoin referendum in the next five years, according to the new poll – with 45% saying there should, but 42% saying there should not.
That said, the number backing a fresh vote in the next 10 years sees the number rise to 49%, with 34% against.
And 52% said there should be a referendum in the next 25 years – double those against the move (26%).