A new poll shows that more than 50 per cent of people think the UK was wrong to leave the European Union seven years after the referendum.
Based on a survey of 1,525 adults conducted at the start of June, the poll found that 34 per cent still think Brexit was the right decision.
The findings, published by the Tony Blair Institute and carried out by Deltapoll, also indicate that 18 per cent of Leave voters now believe the decision was the wrong one.
Nearly 80 per cent believe the UK should have a closer relationship with the EU in the future, with 43 per cent wanting the UK to join the EU and 13 per cent favoring returning to the single market only.
The survey found that just over a fifth of people supported a closer relationship with the European Union, although not as a member or as part of the single market.
The data forms part of a new report, which looks at how the UK can improve its post-Brexit relationship with the European Union.
The authors Anton Spisak and Christos Tsoulakis also warn that “the opinions of those who voted in the 2016 referendum do not appear to have changed significantly.”
Rather, the main factor in this change has been the attitudes of those 18-24-year-old respondents who did not vote in 2016 but who largely consider the decision to leave to be a mistake.
“Most of the shift appears to be attributed to young people entering the electorate rather than a significant portion of those who voted to leave changing their minds,” the report says.
Among the proposals put forward by the institute is to encourage the government to commit to voluntary harmonization with EU regulations on goods, including product rules and food safety standards.
The Sir Tony Blair-backed think tank notes that this could be a precursor to negotiations with the bloc on close regulatory compatibility on SPS measures.
The report also suggests linking the UK and EU emissions trading systems, as well as agreeing to a reciprocal youth exchange scheme while also improving mobility for business people.
It also calls for a so-called “strategic pillar” within the existing trade agreement that would serve as the basis for a common framework on foreign and defense policy.
Spisak, the institute’s head of political leadership, said: “Our polls show that there is a large majority of the British public who recognize that Brexit in its current form is not working and would like to see the UK move closer to the EU.
This creates ample political space to move the debate forward from re-fighting old battles over whether Brexit is right or wrong, to debating what an improved future relationship with the EU should look like.
“The EU will always be a key strategic ally, and it is absurd that the Union has deeper trade arrangements with Israel and Georgia, better regulatory recognition of food safety standards with Canada and New Zealand, and deeper mechanisms for political cooperation with countries including Australia and Japan.
Any future British government that wants to improve the relationship with the EU will need a carefully considered strategic plan – and a clear offer to the other party. Asking the EU for kindness cannot work as a negotiating strategy.”
