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last mo.

Britons Shift Toward Closer EU Ties as Polls and Protests Highlight Growing Support

May polling plus a weekend London march show voters, especially younger people, now favour closer economic, social or security ties with the EU, leaving officials with hard political and technical choices.

FILE - Protestors are reflected in a large puddle as they wave European flags to demonstrate against Brexit in front of the Parliament in London, Dec. 3, 2018. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)
FILE- Anti Brexit campaigner Steve Bray walks on the beach to pose for a photograph during the Labour Party Conference at the Brighton Centre in Brighton, England, Monday, Sept. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
People during a National Rejoin March in London, marking 10 years since the Brexit referendum (Photo: Jeff Moore/PA Wire)
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Overview

  • New polling conducted for the European Council on Foreign Relations in May found about three‑quarters of voters want closer relations with the EU and only 32% now say Brexit was the right decision.
  • The National Rejoin March in central London on Saturday drew an estimated 1,500 people who carried EU flags and told personal stories about visa problems, higher costs and lost research links.
  • Younger voters are driving the shift: around 70% of people who were too young to vote in 2016 would vote to rejoin the EU if a referendum were held today.
  • Analysts and reporting cite tangible economic and practical costs from Brexit, including a Bank of England data analysis that estimated a roughly 6% hit to the UK economy and evidence of trade friction and loss of EU research funding.
  • Despite rising public support for rapprochement, the UK government and EU remain cautious, having ruled out immediate full re‑entry to the single market or freedom of movement and indicating any change would require lengthy, complex negotiations.