Brexit Regret Exposed as Voters Say They Were Lied To By Leave Campaign

Exclusive poll on the anniversary of the EU Referendum shows deep public dissatisfaction with the reality of Brexit

In this week’s Bienkov Briefing:

• VOTERS SAY THEY WERE LIED TO BY BREXIT CAMPAIGNERS

• JUST 8% SAY LIFE IS NOW BETTER THANKS TO BREXIT

• LEAVE VOTERS MUCH MORE LIKELY TO REGRET THEIR VOTE

• MAJORITY BACK RETURN OF FREE MOVEMENT

---

Brexit voters are now much more likely to say they regret their vote to leave the EU, than those who voted for Remain, according to an exclusive new poll for the Byline Supplement.

On the anniversary of the EU referendum, our poll finds that of the one-in-five of voters now saying they regret their vote, 73% voted for Leave, while just 28% voted for Remain.

The poll, conducted by pollsters Omnisis also found deep dissatisfaction with the realities of Brexit.

Overall just 8% of all voters say life has got better as a result of the decision to Leave, compared to more than half (55%) who say it has got worse.

Even Brexit voters are unconvinced that Brexit has made life better, with just 14% saying life in the UK is now better as a result of leaving the EU, compared to 34% who say it is worse.

---

LIED TO BY LEAVE

This sense of regret comes as voters now say they were lied to by the Leave campaign.

During the EU referendum campaign, Leave campaigners promised that leaving the EU would lead to cheaper food prices, hundreds of millions of pounds a week extra for the NHS, and better pay.

They also denied that Brexit would lead to Britain becoming a poorer place, or make it harder to trade with our European neighbours.

However, our new poll found that 60% of all voters now believe they were not told the truth by the Leave campaign, compared to just 17% who disagree.

Almost half of all Brexit voters believe they were lied to, with 47% saying they were not told the truth by Leave campaigners, compared to just 28% who say they were.

---

VOTERS WANT RETURN OF FREE MOVEMENT

The Leave campaign focused heavily on warnings about immigration if Britain remained in the EU.

However, since leaving the EU, net migration to the UK has actually significantly increased, with the number of new arrivals from outside of the EU more than compensating for the reduced numbers from inside the bloc.

Meanwhile, it has become increasingly difficult for UK citizens to work, trade and live in the EU, due to post-Brexit restrictions.

These restrictions appear to be deeply unpopular according to our poll.

Asked if they would like to see a return of ‘freedom of movement’ rules which allowed UK citizens to live and work freely in the EU and EU citizens to live and work freely in the UK, 56% of all voters said they would, compared to just 23% who said they would not.

The scale of support for the return of free movement, stands in stark contrast to the policy positions of the major political parties.

Both the Conservatives and Labour currently insist there will be no return to free movement under their potential future Governments.

This opposition does not appear to have been fully picked up by voters, however.

According to our poll just 24% of all voters correctly understand that Labour’s policy is to remain outside the EU, compared to 38% who believe Keir Starmer’s policy is to rejoin.

Many voters even appear confused about the Conservative party’s position. According to the poll 15% of all voters say they believe Rishi Sunak’s policy is to actually rejoin the EU, with a further 27% unsure either way.