More Brits than ever say Brexit was wrong choice: YouGov survey

The proportion of Britons who say Brexit was a mistake hit a new record high this month, a survey from pollsters YouGov showed on Tuesday (18 July).

With few economic benefits to show for the June 2016 vote to leave the European Union, 57% of Britons said the decision to leave the European Union in 2016 was the wrong one, compared with 32% who thought it was correct.

More than half – 55% – said they would vote to rejoin the EU, against 31% who said they would stay out, if a referendum were to be held today.

YouGov said the results marked a “moderate shift” from January 2021, when 49% said they would vote to rejoin and 37% to stay out.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in May that Brexit is delivering benefits, citing his flagship policy of freeports and VAT cuts that he said would make beer and sanitary products cheaper.

Economists say freeports – special zones containing tax and customs reliefs and simplified trade regulations – are unlikely to boost Britain’s economy but may have limited value as a regional development tool.

British business investment has barely grown since mid-2016, in contrast with other advanced economies. While Brexit-supporting economists point to the fact that capital grew strongly in the years leading up 2016 and was bound to slow, business surveys point to Brexit as one cause of the stagnation.

The YouGov survey of more than 2,000 British people showed 63% now regard Brexit as more of a failure than a success, compared with 12% who saw it as more of a success. A further 18% said it was neither.

UK relaxes visa rules

Britain has added a number of construction roles to its “shortage occupation list”, allowing the building industry to bring in staff from abroad more easily to help employers struggling to fill positions.

Bricklayers, masons, roofers, roof tilers, slaters, carpenters, joiners and plasterers will benefit from cheaper visas and more relaxed employment criteria under the changes.

Britain is suffering from acute labour shortages in some sectors meaning employers are keen to recruit workers from abroad.

But, doing so causes a political headache for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s governing Conservative Party, which has been promising to cut net migration for the last decade.

The interior ministry said in a statement on Monday that adding the new roles would “aid the delivery of key national infrastructure and stimulate growth for related industries”

The independent Migration Advisory Committee recommended in March that the construction jobs be added to the shortage occupation list. The list already includes care workers, civil engineers and laboratory technicians, plus healthcare roles.

Net migration to Britain reached a record high of 606,000 last year, data published in May showed, drawing fresh promises from Sunak to reduce arrivals.

Critics of Brexit say the UK’s exit from the European Union has exacerbated labour shortages as EU citizens can no longer travel without visas to work in Britain as they could before.

Those working in a shortage occupation can be paid 80% of the job’s usual rate and still qualify for a visa, the government statement said. Applicants need a job offer from an employer and must meet an English language requirement.

(Edited by Georgi Gotev)