Polls paint mixed picture of public opinion on Brexit impact

A spate of new opinion polls paint a mixed picture about current public perception on the impact of the UK's decision to leave the EU.

UK and EU flags | Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

By Martin Banks

Martin Banks is a senior reporter at the Parliament Magazine

04 Aug 2016


The economic downside for the UK since the 23 June Brexit vote became more visible on Thursday when the Bank of England cut its key interest rate for the first time since the 2009 financial crisis.

Even so, a YouGov survey published on the same day found no evidence that UK voters regretted the decision to leave the EU. 

Asked whether Britain was "right or wrong to leave the EU", 46 per cent of respondents said that it had been the right decision and 42 per cent said that it had been the wrong one. 


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Separately, a 16-country poll by Ipsos MORI found that 56 per cent of Britons think the UK should receive favourable exit terms, more than twice as many as in Germany, Belgium and France. 

On the overall impact of Brexit on Britain, 64 per cent in Germany and Spain say the vote will weaken the UK. The results were also published on Thursday

Views are more positive outside the EU: Russia and India in particular are more likely to say the UK will be stronger (47 per cent and 44 per cent respectively) than weaker (17 per cent and 36 per cent). 

The US is evenly split, with 32 per cent saying the UK will be weaker but 33 per cent saying the UK will be stronger.

According to the same poll, 39 per cent of people in EU countries say they are sad to see Britain leave, while 13 per cent say they are happy. Swedes are the most likely to be sad to see Britain go (48 per cent), while the French are the least likely to be sad (25 per cent).

Brexit may also have knocked Britain's international appeal. 

A quarter of respondents on the continent said they were less likely to visit the UK after the decision to quit the EU, while a similar amount were less likely to buy British goods and services. But two-thirds of people said the Brexit vote made no difference on these issues.

The pollsters interviewed 12,525 adults of working age in 16 countries between 24 June and 8 July.

In yet another new poll out on Thursday, a quarter of people from EU countries say they are less likely to buy British goods and services following the Brexit vote. 

Some 27 per cent of EU members are less likely to buy British, while 26 per cent say they are less likely to holiday in Britain.

Meanwhile, seven per cent said they were more likely to buy British as a result, with eight per cent more likely to take their holidays in the UK, with the remainder saying it will make no difference.

Commenting on the findings, Bobby Duffy, managing director of social research at Ipsos MORI, said: "There is no doubt that the majority in Europe see (the UK leaving the EU) as a worrying outcome, one that brings risks for the UK, the EU and their own country. 

"But the survey also shows there is no one opinion on this in the EU and beyond.

"There are plenty who see this as an opportunity as much as a challenge."

 

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