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Public support for new Brexit referendum revealed

Less than a third of Brits think Brexit is ‘done,’ YouGov poll reveals

Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Monday 14 August 2023 18:01 BST
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Nearly half of Britons want a second Brexit referendum in the next 10 years, a new YouGov poll has revealed.

More than a quarter of people support a referendum as soon as the end of 2023.

In a survey taken between 8-9 August, 46 per cent of people said there should be a referendum in the next 10 years, while 36 per cent of people said there should not.

The poll also surveyed how much progress has been made with the Brexit deal, though the results show little satisfaction.

Less than a third of people (30 per cent) think Brexit is “done”, while almost half (49 per cent) said it is not complete.

However, in an earlier survey conducted between 28 February and 1 March, only 18 per cent thought Brexit was done while 60 per cent said it was not.

When asked how they would vote if there was a referendum on rejoining the EU, half of the participants said they would vote to rejoin.

Survey by YouGov shows what Brits think of Brexit, seven years on

By contrast, 30 per cent said they would vote to stay out, while seven per cent said they would not vote.

Remain voters are overwhelmingly in favour of another referendum, with 41 per cent saying there should be one this year, 61 per cent saying so within the next five years, and 70 per cent in the next 10 years.

Only eight per cent of Leave voters support a referendum in 2023, 16 per cent think there should be one in the next five years, and 20 per cent within the next 10 years.

Only 30 per cent of Britons think Brexit is done

YouGov’s tracker data shows that dissatisfaction with the government’s handling of Brexit continues to be very high, with 72 per cent saying they are doing badly. Six in 10 (62 per cent) believe Brexit has been more of a failure than a success, and a majority (55 per cent) say we were wrong to vote to leave in the first place.

Beth Mann, political researcher at YouGov, said: “Despite high levels of ‘Bregret’ among the British public, this new polling shows that there is not necessarily a widespread appetite for another referendum anytime soon. However, there are strong party divisions that could swing campaigns as we head into the next election and beyond, with a significant majority of those who currently intend to vote Labour backing a referendum on rejoining the EU within the next 5 or 10 years.

“Our figures also suggest that if a referendum were to be held now, Britain rejoining the EU would come out on top. So, while political leaders have time on their side, this polling suggests that there will likely come a point in the coming years when conversations about another referendum will be hard to avoid.”

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