Brexit has completely failed for UK, say clear majority of Britons - poll

[Eugene]

Source: The Observer

Brexit has completely failed for UK, say clear majority of Britons – poll

Only one in 10 feel leaving the EU has helped their finances, while just 9% say it has benefited the NHS, despite £350m a week pledge according to new poll

Toby Helm
Sat 30 Dec 2023 16.18 GMT
Last modified on Sat 30 Dec 2023 19.40 GMT

A clear majority of the British public now believes Brexit has been bad for the UK economy, has driven up prices in shops, and has hampered government attempts to control immigration, according to a poll by Opinium to mark the third anniversary of the UK leaving the EU single market and customs union.

The survey of more than 2,000 UK voters also finds strikingly low numbers of people who believe that Brexit has benefited them or the country.

Just one in 10 believe leaving the EU has helped their personal financial situation, against 35% who say it has been bad for their finances, while just 9% say it has been good for the NHS, against 47% who say it has had a negative effect.

Ominously for prime minister Rishi Sunak, who backed Brexit and claimed it would be economically beneficial, only 7% of people think it has helped keep down prices in UK shops, against 63% who think Brexit has been a factor in fuelling inflation and the cost of living crisis.

-snip-

Read more: https://archive.is/KDiLl

Original Guardian link (registration required): https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/dec/30/britons-brexit-bad-uk-poll-eu-finances-nhs

[enid602]

1. Beg

Hope the EU makes them beg to get back in.

[Emrys]

7. Why the spite?

A good 48% of us didn't vote for it in the first place.

I also don't believe we generally think of ourselves as "them" in the United Kingdom forum. We're here, we're from the UK, and this is our space, to which others are welcome.

[MLAA]

13. It is indeed your space and I'm sorry that so many have suffered from those that were duped into thinking it would

be a boon.

[enid602]

14. Union

I think the Union won’t mean anything really, if individual countries are allowed to join and secede at will. But sorry, did not mean to crash your forum.

[Emrys]

16. Oh, please, you're welcome here,

and none of us can tell you where to post on DU anyway.

But you may understand that being referred to as "them" here, especially on what has long been a very touchy subject for many of us, grates a bit.

As for the Union, don't get me started!

[cstanleytech]

25. What's the benefit for the EU to accept the UK back when there is a risk that the UK will

cause more turmoil should it get a wild hair up it's ass and decide to bail out again?

[slightlv]

26. Frankly, I feel sorry for Britons...

That the "majority" were duped into thinking it was a good idea is a tragedy. But it's exactly what Putin was banking on. And if our "majority" in the US vote to put Trump back in office, the same type of thing will be done to us. I don't think it was the majority in either country. Numbers can be fudged in reports so that one way can be made to sound like the opposite.

I've been following, somewhat, the changes that have taken place since Brexit over on Medium. It's heartbreaking, especially what's been done to the NHS. You have my sympathy... and empathy. We are dangling on a knife's edge over here. I don't think my heart will handle the year to come, as we head into November. There are just too many stupid people who don't even understand what "critical thinking" is, let alone how to do it. It's totally worrisome.

There were so many issues that were brought up before the Brexit vote that got short shrift. Those who were thinking, and extrapolating forward if this was to happen, and I just felt... from reading about it from afar... that those voices were all but shut out. Putin's goal is to break up democracies all over the world, and he's really working hard at it. Getting *rump elected was one of his main goals, as was breaking up the European Union - those two largest blocs of democracy. He's working on his third right now. This time, I hope he goes down hard.

[Celerity]

2. Registration is not required to read the Guardian btw.

[MLAA]

11. You are right and I value your posts, especially enjoy the architectural ones.

[NewHendoLib]

3. Why of course.

[2naSalit]

4. And the Tories fought so hard to keep it.

May they suffer the fate that all right winger deserve, never ending electoral losses.

[LeftishBrit]

38. They are very likely at any rate to suffer major electoral losses at the next General Election

which will be soon now.

[MOMFUDSKI]

5. The whole lot of them VOTED for Brexit!

Duh

[Emrys]

6. Not sure if trolling, but totally untrue anyway

The vote was 52% Leave, 48% Remain. In Scotland, 69% voted Remain.

Among UK DUers, I think the results would have been more like 90% Remain. Those of us around at the time won't forget having to argue over many days with US DUers who thought Brexit was a great idea. You can do a forum search around that period, and especially after the vote, if you need any details.

[yardwork]

20. I remember. It was heartbreaking.

We were in the midst of the Russian troll farm storm. First, we were told it was a great idea for Russia to "annex" Crimea. Then Brexit was terrific. Then, Trump.

I'm so sorry that so many of our fellow citizens fell for it, on both sides of the Atlantic.

[Emrys]

22. Heh. It was INFURIATING!

I remember a bunch of us huddling in this subforum licking our wounds, exhausted after hours of back and forth with US DUers on GD who seemed to know an inordinate amount about our own country, certainly more than they thought we did.

Sadly, some of those most active at that time don't visit (or at least post on) Democratic Underground any more. I miss them. There was a good buzz of energy around and a lot of healthy mutual support. Just a shame about the circumstances that brought it out!

[yardwork]

23. It worked as intended, but some of us persist.

We're still here. They didn't shut us up.

[LeftishBrit]

37. Whole lot???

Sorry, it was just 52% of those who voted.

Far too few for a major constitutional change. A threshold should have been set,

Some people, who voted for it, have now changed their minds, and good for them,

But saying that 'the whole lot' of us voted for Brexit is just as untrue as it would be to say that 'the whole lot' of Americans voted for Trump.

I certainly voted Remain, and would guess that all UK DU-ers did so.

[Picaro]

8. A self inflicted wound that might never heal

On the surface BREXIT was a stupid move with only downside.

Now the question will become—under what conditions would the European Union allow the UK to rejoin?

[Hekate]

12. Since Putin is actively trying to take it all to pieces, that might be difficult

[SarahD]

9. Gosh! What a surprise!

Imagine that. A move motivated primarily by racism and xenophobia fails. Who coulda seen it coming?

[StClone]

10. Was there ever indications this was a Putin thing?

[enid602]

15. Brexit

I think Brexit and Maga bear some similarities.

[Emrys]

17. Oh, I'm sure he did what he could,

but anti-EU feeling had been festering for many years, especially among the Tories, who were riven by the issue to the extent that Cameron thought he had to try to put the matter to rest by holding the referendum, so any outside actors were pushing on an open door.

Cameron never was the brightest politician.

[Hekate]

18. Yes there were, and are. Various entities have reported interference in not just in UK but in France...

…and if you want a giggle, my own state of California. I don’t think any of it is funny at all, but I’ll tell you about Calexit.

There are some small, rural counties in Northern California that would like to break away and join Idaho or something, so there’s that. There are other morons eccentrics who periodically point out we are now the 4th economy in the world, so why wouldn’t we want to be a nation of our own? Damn the Constitution! Damn the consequences! Yeah yeah yeah.

I’m not sure when it got codified the way it is now, but several years ago there were petitions to get it on the ballot and such and finally someone followed the money and located the home office of the American who was running the campaign to break California away from the Union.

Siberia. What a coinkydink.

https://www.yescalifornia.org/

[The_REAL_Ecumenist]

35. WORD...Hekate I'm just north of Sacramento for the New year

Don't get me started in talking about Placer, Glenn, Tehama, Shasta, Modoc, Lassen, Siskiyou & Del Norte counties. They have folks that are complete Hot messes.

[Hekate]

36. I get the feeling they feel real misunderstood by all of us on the Coast. ...

[Elessar Zappa]

19. Russian troll farms were active in pushing pro-Brexit, anti-EU crap all over social media.

So yeah, Putin had his grubby little hands in it all.

[ArkansasDemocrat1]

32. Too bad I'll never be able to vandalize Pooty's grave :-(

[yardwork]

21. Yes. Clear evidence of Russian troll farm activity on social media.

[vanlassie]

24. Absolutely! Of course it was. And recall,

Trump, who knew fuck all about any country outside the US ( and fuck little about the US,) clearly had the heads up from Putin to go over there and tell them they should leave.

My British grandchildren’s children will still be catching up to the status of living provided before that travesty.

[SouthernDem4ever]

28. As an aside, I don't think trump knows fuck about the US either

nor does he care, nor do any of his weird supporters care.

[Varaddem]

31. When it came out that Putin was a fan of it

I thought maybe they should step back and take a look at it. that came out before the vote.

[LeftishBrit]

39. At least one previously undecided friend of mine chose to vote Remain just for that reason.

[V850i]

34. Yes, from the UK Parliamentary committee on intelligence and security

It was quite damning that the government failed to heed the warnings or take any action prior to the Brexit vote. Too much Russian money in London?

[Deuxcents]

27. I remember when tfg endorsed it and encouraged the break..

Then bashed Ms May for her handling of Brexit. So typical of him

[LeftishBrit]

40. Ugh, yes

Last edited Sun Dec 31, 2023, 10:38 PM - Edit history (1)

His behaviour on his visit to the UK was absolutely dreadful. Including bashing May (the sitting Prime Minister) in favour of Johnson; rudeness to the Mayor of London; letting his uninvited kids gatecrash; oafish behaviour at his meeting with the Queen- the list goes on and on.

[RainCaster]

29. This does not surprise me

At the time I was working for a company in Oxfordshire and everyone I worked with said this was the stupidest idea. It was said to be the UK's "hold my beer" moment after seeing the rise of DFT.

[Joinfortmill]

30. No shit, really? Rofl.

[Tree Lady]

33. OMG I had a talk with 4 older English ladies

right before the vote when I was in Ireland. I heard them talking about it and asked how they were going to vote. They were against it but thought it would pass.

We had a long interesting talk about it.