61% think quitting the EU made the country poorer, according to a Savanta survey
Pro-Brexit demonstrators speak with anti-Brexit demonstrators in Parliament Square in central London on October 19, 2019. © ISABEL INFANTES / AFP
Almost two thirds of Brits believe that Brexit has been detrimental to the economy, with almost half saying it has diminished the country’s global clout, a new poll has found.
According to a Savanta survey commissioned by the Independent and released on Sunday, 61% of respondents think that since the UK left the EU in late 2020 following the results of the landmark 2016 referendum, its economy has deteriorated. Only 13% think Brexit has made it better.
In addition, 55% of respondents said leaving the EU has made various goods less available, with only 14% claiming the opposite.
A total of 47% of those surveyed think that their financial status has gone downhill due to Brexit, while 13% feel they are now better off.
Almost half – 47% – believe Brexit has reduced the UK’s global influence, with 16% arguing that the nation’s global standing has strengthened. Another 53% say Brexit has soured ties between the UK and the EU, while 13% believe the reverse.
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Commenting on the survey’s results, Savanta director Chris Hopkins noted that “there’s a strong perception that Brexit has not gone particularly well,” suggesting that there seems to be “little evidence in the perceptions of both Remainers and Leavers that Brexit has left the UK in a better state.”
Last week, a study by Jonathan Haskel, an external member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, found that the UK’s decision to leave the EU had cost it more than £29 billion ($34.9 billion) in lost business investment. Another analysis by Bloomberg earlier this month estimated that Britain’s economy was losing about £100 billion ($120 million) annually due to its split with the EU.
A January poll, also conducted by Savanta, found that 65% of Brits want to have another vote on Brexit, and potentially bring the UK back into the EU.
