A new poll reveals a significant shift in public attitudes toward Brexit in Britain, with nearly half of respondents saying they would like the United Kingdom to rejoin the European Union, as reported by The Guardian. The survey, conducted by The Messina Group (TMG) on a sample of 11,461 people, shows that 49% support rejoining the EU, compared to just 28.5% who are opposed. At the same time, 52.4% believe Britain made a mistake when it voted in favor of Brexit, while 29.7% consider the decision to have been correct.
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Burnham leaves the door open on rejoining the EU
This comes as British Prime Minister Andy Burnham expressed his desire for Britain to develop closer ties with the European Union. Speaking to the BBC, Burnham left the possibility of rejoining the EU clearly open — a bolder stance than that adopted by his predecessor, Keir Starmer. When asked directly about rejoining, he said he would “consider the options.”
As he characteristically stated: “We could stay as we are. That is certainly an option, if people believe that is the right position to remain in.” He added: “We could look at what former Chancellor George Osborne has said about a customs union, we could look at what the Liberal Democrats said at their conference about the single market, or we could go the whole way.”
Concluding his remarks, the British Prime Minister said: “So there are clearly options to be considered, and we need to examine what is feasible and what the advantages and disadvantages of each would be.”
How a return to the EU could happen
Nearly one in three people believes a new referendum should come first, while more than one in six thinks a general election would be sufficient. A similar proportion believes Parliament could make the decision on its own. As for timing, 25.9% say they want an immediate return to the EU, 22.9% want it within the next three years, and 8.4% within the next decade.
