According to a recent survey, seven years after the referendum on Brexit, the percentage of Brits who would prefer a return to the EU, has increased to its highest levels since 2016.
Both Europeans and Britons believe that, UK’s readmission to the EU is increasingly likely, but British respondents are more upbeat regarding the prospects of the union, even going further to place more faith in the European Commission, than their own administration. According to data, 58.2% of Brits would now vote to rejoin, overshadowing those who implied they would not vote or were unsure.
The proportion has grown almost steadily since a post-referendum low of 47% in early 2021. It is just slightly lower than the 60% reported in February of this year, which was the highest reading since similar data collection began in February 2012.
Additionally, the study discovered that, Europeans are much less likely to believe that, other nations would imitate the Brexit-style referendum. In France and Italy, two of the least enthusiastic EU member nations, 62% and 63% respectively, of the people polled said they would vote to stay in the EU.
Data also revealed that, support for ongoing EU membership has now returned to the degree that it had before Russia-Ukraine war, causing a sharp growth in pro-European attitude. In other EU countries, 87% of respondents in Spain, 79% in Denmark, 70% in Sweden, and 69% in Germany stated they would prefer to stay in the EU last month.
However, the unlikelihood that, other nations would follow Britain’s example and exit the EU over the next ten years, has also reached high in Britain, with 42% saying it is unlikely, up from 26% three years ago, and 40% saying it is likely, down from 58%.
Similar trends were observed among EU members; in France, 45% of respondents believed that, another EU exit was possible, down from 55% in February 2020. The rates clocked 36% in Germany (down from 42%) and 29% in Denmark (up from 41%).
A small majority of respondents (51%) said, they still believe it is improbable that Britain would return to the EU at some point in the future, despite the fact that attitudes about EU membership, have changed dramatically in Britain since the referendum.
Moreover, that percentage has been decreasing more or less steadily, since it reached 62% two years ago. In April, 29% of respondents in Britain believed that, it is likely that their nation will rejoin, up from 21% in early 2021.
Italy (61%) and France (54%) in the EU had lower levels of optimism about Britain’s chances to re-join, compared to Denmark (43%) and Sweden (49%). More people than in 2021 believed that Britain will likely return, across the board.
Additionally, post referendum British confidence in the future of the EU, has also increased noticeably. For the first time ever, more British respondents (41%) expressed optimism than pessimism (36%), marking a historical landmark.
Regarding how Brexit might affect the British economy, there was less hope. Around 58% of UK respondents, up significantly from 50% two years ago, said, that they believed the nation’s exit from the EU would have an adverse effect.
Respondents outside the UK tended to be more positive about their nation’s future than those from within, and they were also more inclined to believe that, Britain’s economic growth would not be much affected by its decision to leave the EU.
Furthermore, the statistics revealed that, respondents in Britain, by a marginal increase, are more likely to say, they trust the European Commission (25%), more than they do their own government (24%).
Following the UK’s successful early Covid vaccination rollout, and removal of lockdown limitations, faith in the British government fell from a high of 40% in April 2021, while trust in the European Union Commission has slowly increased since 2016.
