TWO THIRDS of Europeans would welcome Britain back into the EU, a major new poll has found, ten years after the fateful Brexit vote that irrevocably altered the course of British history.
A survey by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) found that 66% of respondents across 15 EU countries ‘strongly supported’ or ‘tended to support’ the UK’s return to the bloc.
Support held up in every country surveyed, from 56% in Bulgaria to 75% in the Netherlands and Denmark, where almost half of respondents said they backed the idea ‘a lot’.Â
Across the EU as a whole, today three in four people see the UK as either an ally or a necessary partner, with Denmark the warmest (62%) and Bulgaria the coolest (11%).
Somewhat surprisingly, even Europe’s far-right would welcome a UK return, with both Germany’s AfD party and France’s National Rally polling at 58%, while supporters of Poland’s Confederation party backed a UK return at 71%.
Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sanchez has been the most vocal supporter among European leaders.
Asked in an interview in January whether Spain would back a UK return, he did not hesitate: “Absolutely,” he said.Â
“We miss the UK within the European Union. There is a clear need to have the UK on board again, especially nowadays.”
Finland’s president Alexander Stubb went further still, telling a Chatham House address in London in March that Brexit had been ‘a colossal mistake’ and that Europe ‘really misses’ Britain.
British opinion has shifted just as dramatically.
Ten years on from the referendum, 57% now say leaving the EU was wrong, against just 30% who still think it was right.
Asked to name Brexit’s main benefit, the most common answer by far was ‘don’t know’.
Two thirds blame Brexit for the rising cost of living, and 58% of those who voted Leave now believe it has even made illegal immigration worse.
Tellingly, Labour and Green voters were more likely than Reform supporters to say there were fewer small boat crossings when Britain was still in the EU.
Three quarters of British voters want closer ties with Brussels, while freedom of movement, once Brexit’s most toxic issue, has lost its sting: 66% would now accept it outright.
READ MORE: ‘We miss you’: Spain’s Pedro Sanchez says UK should rejoin the EU a decade on from Brexit
If a referendum were held tomorrow, 52% would vote to rejoin against 31% who would stay out.
Labour voters back joining by 83%, while Reform UK remains the only party firmly opposed, at 76% against.
The clearest signal of where Britain is heading comes from those too young to have had a vote in 2016. They would back joining the EU by 70% to 11%.
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Brexit was the biggest lie perpetrated on the British electorate, and the biggest mistake enacted. It was enacted by vested interests who didn’t like the scrutiny and control on the EU that restricted their nefarious dealings. Farage is an example, accepting gifts from questionable cyber currency living in Thailand and failing to declare it. As an MP for Clacton, who collects his salary, can charge his expenses but hardly ever, if even once visits his constituency. He’s a totally grifter who sold a lie. He pretends to support the working man, drinks pints in a pub, then retires to his private club to cohort with his millionaire friends drinking high end spirits and smoking Cuban cigars. A total charlatan.
Well put!
While yaxley Lennon spends 3/4 of the year swanning around in Europe…