Most Brits Now Believe The UK Economy Has Got Worse Since We Left The EU

Pro-Europe campaigners and tourists during the regular anti-Brexit 'rejoin the EU' protest at the junction of Parliament Street and Parliament Square in Westminster, on 18th June 2025, in Westminster, London, England. Nearly three-quarters of Brits think the UK economy has got worse since Brexit, according to a new poll.Nine years after the country narrowly voted to leave the bloc, it seems Brits are far from convinced by life outside of the EU’s single market.A new survey has revealed that 71% of voters think the UK economy has worsened since 2016, compared to just 12% who think it has improved.With focus groups conducted by More in Common for Best for Britain – and carried out in April and May – found 77% say the cost of living has got worse since the UK left the EU.A further 58% say UK businesses face greater difficulties accessing European markets as a result of Brexit.The pollsters also noted that Brits are now in favour of working more closely with Europe – as long as it improves the cost of living and trade opportunities.A majority (54%) – including 44% who voted Leave and 44% who said they would currently back Reform UK – say they would be in favour of working more closely with Europe on areas like food, trade standards and defence.But a third of Brits (32%) also believe that protecting Britain’s sovereignty should be a red line for future negotiations with the EU.The findings come as the government looks to strengthen trade ties with the EU – a move which has infuriated ardent Brexit campaigners like Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.His party, Reform UK, has vowed to rip up the UK’s current reset agreement with the EU, and accused Labour of “trying to betray Brexit” by aligning with EU rules on trade without parliamentary debate. Labour minister for EU relations, Nick Thomas-Symonds, said Farage would “take Britain backwards” if he got into power.Even so, Reform currently has an eight-point lead over Labour in the opinion pollsMore in Common’s executive director, Luke Tryl, explained: “Nearly a decade after leaving the EU, many Britons want the government to take a pragmatic approach to working with Europe, supporting closer cooperation when it delivers clear economic benefits – especially in areas like the cost of living and food prices.“At the same time, concern about sovereignty remains. The country is split on what closer ties with Europe might mean for the UK’s ability to make its own decisions on regulatory standards.“Rather than wanting politicians to re-litigate Brexit, most want the focus to be on practical discussions that work out how to balance the economic benefits of a closer relationship with protecting national control.”Labour promised to put economic growth at the heart of its government, but it’s been a mixed picture during the party’s first 13 months in power.The economy grew by 0.4% in June, but contracted by 0.3% in April and 0.1% in May, according to the Office for National Statistics.Related...Rachel Reeves Gets Brutal Reality Check Just Hours After Claiming Labour Is Making 'Progress' On The EconomyBlow For Rachel Reeves As UK Economy Shrank By 0.3% After Trump TariffsKeir Starmer Warns Nigel Farage's 'Mad Experiment' Would Ruin Economy Like Liz Truss

Comments

Breaking news

Meghan Markle Has A Message For Critics Of Her Much-Maligned Netflix Series

Huffpost uk

Comments

Breaking news

Meghan Markle Has A Message For Critics Of Her Much-Maligned Netflix Series

King & Conqueror Stars Have Their Say Over 1 Major Criticism Of The Show

Harry Potter Director Has A Very Blunt 3-Word Message Ahead Of New TV Adaptation

Eating 2 Of This Common Fruit A Day May Lower Cholesterol

I've Been To Over 20 Homeschool Conferences. The Things I've Witnessed At Them Shocked Me.

I Tried The 90/90 Organisation Rule, And My Home Has Never Had Less Clutter

Fact check: Does Trump have ‘spies in Greenland’?

Police officer admits sexual activity with a girl, 14, over a year

Painting stolen by Nazis is found in an estate agent’s advert – before vanishing

Something strange has been spotted about the 3I/Atlas comet hurtling towards the sun

Is the Croydon cat Killer back? The gruesome incidents that hint ‘he never went away’

Boy, 17, fighting for life and another teen hurt in knife attack in Old Kent Road

Map reveals last sightings of tourist schoolgirl, 15, who vanished after travelling to London to see famous landmarks

Fury as Labour minister claims Brexit was never properly debated by the public while defending Starmer’s EU reset

Bankers found out they were being fired after email asking for their laptops to be returned sent by mistake

Blow for Elon Musk as Tesla sales fall 40% in Europe despite rise in customers buying EVs

The 20-minute exercise science says reduces stress – and you don’t even need to move

The simple habits that science says will make young people happier

Switzerland's top court upholds Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan's conviction for rape, sexual coercion

Victoria premier calls on suspected Porepunkah shooter to surrender as search enters third day

Main highway from Damascus to Sweida reopens to aid convoys weeks after Syria violence

Warning over Mounjaro ‘golden dose’ as users panic over shortages and soaring prices

Allowing ban on asylum seekers at protest-hit hotel could encourage more riots, Cooper tells court

Sudan's Rapid Support Forces shell a besieged Darfur city, killing 24 and wounding 55, group says

Iran's rial currency falls to near-record lows on European 'snapback' sanctions threat

Once is unlucky, three times is a pattern: Departures from Starmer’s top team reflect dysfunction in No 10

Japanese officials apologize at grave of wrongfully detained man denied timely cancer treatment

Photos: Minneapolis Catholic school shooting aftermath

Iranian ambassador leaves Australia amid diplomatic rift over antisemitic attacks

Top Boy actor Micheal Ward appears in court charged with rape and sexual assault

Bodybuilder infamous for touching men’s muscles found dead in flat

Online age checks are proliferating, but so are concerns they curtail internet freedom

Gaza’s children being starved to death are now too weak to cry, says Save the Children chief

Poundland confirms major price changes amid store closures

Reform council accused of ‘massive attack on local democracy’ after Nottingham Post ban

Exclusive: Keir Starmer Launches Fresh No.10 Shake-Up Amid Polling Slump

Jude Law Is Unrecognisable As He Transforms Into Vladimir Putin For New Film Role

This Is Why Season 2 Of Meghan Markle's Netflix Show Is Being Slammed By Critics

Most Brits Now Believe The UK Economy Has Got Worse Since We Left The EU

Captain Tom’s charity suffers £100,000 dip in assets in a year

Tourist goes for a dip in Rome’s Trevi Fountain and is swiftly taken away by police

Apple rumoured to release new flip iPhone with ‘radical’ design

Beauty and the thief: Mother-of-three pockets £300k of cosmetics and perfumes from Boots

Royal Mail restarts US parcel service – for an extra fee

Simple walking style change may help delay knee surgery for years

Woman accused of killing her son by throwing him into a lake during test of faith

Maryam Abu Daqqa’s final photos show the Gaza hospital stairwell where she was killed

Protesters hurl rocks at Argentinian president Javier Milei during campaign rally amid corruption allegations

Getting a COVID-19 vaccine is getting more and more difficult. Here’s why

The unhappiest age might surprise you - and it’s not midlife

Ukraine-Russia war latest: Moscow strikes British Council building in ‘massive’ drone attack on Kyiv

Passenger fined nearly £100 after cat ‘miaows too loudly’ on train

Forget Philly: Sweden’s reindeer cheesesteaks fills tourists and locals alike

Father of Parkland school shooting victim pleads for gun reform after Minnesota: ‘predictable and preventable’

Melania Trump calls for ‘pre-emptive intervention’ after two children killed in Minneapolis mass shooting

Scientists discover natural compounds found in popular hot drink that protect brain against Alzheimer’s

Parts of Russia run dry as Ukraine’s drone strikes hit oil refineries

A look at the travels of North Korea's Kim Jong Un, who visits China next week

Study finds generations born after 1939 unlikely to reach 100 years of age

Japan's chief trade envoy postpones US trip as Tokyo calls for faster action on its tariffs deal