More Brits than ever say Brexit was wrong choice: YouGov survey

LONDON — The proportion of Britons who say Brexit was a mistake hit a new record high this month, a survey from pollsters YouGov showed on Tuesday (July 18).

With few economic benefits to show for the June 2016 vote to leave the European Union, 57 per cent of Britons said the decision to leave the European Union in 2016 was the wrong one, compared with 32 per cent who thought it was correct.

More than half — 55 per cent — said they would vote to rejoin the EU, against 31 per cent who said they would stay out, if a referendum were to be held today.

YouGov said the results marked a "moderate shift" from January 2021, when 49 per cent said they would vote to rejoin and 37 per cent to stay out.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in May that Brexit is delivering benefits, citing his flagship policy of freeports and VAT cuts that he said would make beer and sanitary products cheaper.

Economists say freeports — special zones containing tax and customs reliefs and simplified trade regulations — are unlikely to boost Britain's economy but may have limited value as a regional development tool.

British business investment has barely grown since mid-2016, in contrast with other advanced economies. While Brexit-supporting economists point to the fact that capital grew strongly in the years leading up 2016 and was bound to slow, business surveys point to Brexit as one cause of the stagnation.

The YouGov survey of more than 2,000 British people showed 63per cent now regard Brexit as more of a failure than a success, compared with 12 per cent who saw it as more of a success. A further 18 per cent said it was neither.

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