A new YouGov survey shows that Brits are increasingly regretting their decision to leave the European Union, which, despite Prime Minister Rishi Sunak saying it has brought benefits to the UK, more than half of the population say they would now vote to remain in the EU.
According to the new data published this week, if the referendum was to be held again, 55% of respondents said they would vote to remain in the EU as it has affected them in ways that they weren’t made aware of before the vote.
While 31% of respondents said they would still vote to leave the EU, it indicates that 14% would be unsure of which way they would vote if it was held again.
Currently, 57% of Britons say the 2016 decision to leave the EU was wrong, which is the highest figure YouGov has recorded to date. By comparison, one in three respondents (32%) thinks this decision was right and appropriate, while almost one in five Leave voters (19%) now say it was the wrong decision.
Leaving the EU has had some severe impact on the British economy, as data by the OECD reveals that the GDP growth has decreased by 0.4% since 2019, while other countries have experienced increases such as Germany and France, with 0.3 and 1.1% increases in economic growth during the same period.
Many Brits who own properties or want to work abroad in EU countries, including the Canary Islands, are aggrieved by the results of Brexit, particularly by the 90/180-day rule. Property owners in Spain from the UK want the freedom to be able to use their property more flexibly in a 180-day period in the same way as before the UK left the EU.
The situation with seasonal workers is also affecting bars, restaurants, and many other tourist-related industries in holiday resorts, as young workers can’t just come and do a few months and then go home as before, because visas are now more complicated and becoming a resident is far more expensive.
Hopefully, some bilateral agreements between the UK and Spain will make these situations possible in the future before Brits start looking at other destinations that are easier to access.
