In 2016 a majority of Britons voted to leave. Ten years later, that majority is gone. For several years polls have found more people calling Brexit a mistake than the right choice, and the gap has widened over time. Yet no major party now proposes rejoining the Union, and a new referendum is not on the horizon. How can this apparent paradox be explained?
What the polls say
Since 2016 YouGov has asked the same question: "In hindsight, do you think Britain was right or wrong to vote to leave the European Union?" In June 2026, for the tenth anniversary, only about 30% of respondents said it was the right choice; a majority think it was wrong and more than half would like to rejoin the Union or at least build a closer relationship with Europe. According to More in Common, three in five members of Generation Z want a new referendum on membership.
Why opinion has changed
Analysts point to three main factors.
- Generational turnover: many older voters who backed Leave in 2016 have died, while millions of young people, overwhelmingly pro-European, have joined the electorate.
- The verdict on the economy: inflation, stagnant wages, public services under strain and negative estimates of Brexit's effect have convinced many voters that the promised benefits have not materialised.
- Immigration: leaving was supposed to reduce it, but for several years it rose. This disappointed both those who wanted less immigration and those who hoped for a calmer debate.
It should be said, though, that the shift concerns mainly people who did not vote or who voted Remain: according to the polls about two thirds of Leave voters still stand by their decision.
Why nobody proposes rejoining
If most people think Brexit was a mistake, why do the main parties not propose reversing it? The reasons are political and practical. The memory of three years of parliamentary paralysis between 2016 and 2019 is still fresh and no leader wants to reopen that wound; rejoining would also probably come on less favourable terms than before, without the budget rebate and with a theoretical obligation to adopt the euro one day. Many pro-European voters consider a gradual rapprochement more realistic.
Where the parties stand
- Labour, in government since 2024, first under Keir Starmer and since July 2026 under Andy Burnham, rules out rejoining the Union, the single market and the customs union, but has launched the reset of relations with Brussels.
- The Conservatives criticise the reset as a surrender to EU rules and defend the exit delivered by their governments.
- Reform UK, Nigel Farage's party, which has risen sharply in the polls, opposes any realignment and calls for an even tougher line on immigration.
- The Liberal Democrats propose a new customs union with the EU as a first step; the Greens support rejoining in the long term.
- The Scottish National Party wants an independent Scotland inside the EU and uses Brexit as a central argument for independence.
The future
Many observers believe that in the coming years the debate will shift from "whether" to "how": how close to move to the Union, in which sectors and at what price in terms of rules accepted without a vote. The Brussels summit of November 2026 and the review of the trade agreement provided for by the treaty will be the next tests. Back to the Brexit special or read the chronology.