Poll: Brexit has damaged economy, NHS and Britain's world standing, majority say

More than one-in-ten Leave voters also want to re-join the EU, the poll showed

​Voters believe Brexit has had a negative impact on vast swathes of policy, politics and public services from the economy to the NHS and the UK’s standing in the world, new polling has suggested.

The regrets also appear to be growing on almost all issues, fuelling rising support for re-joining the EU, with almost half (49 per cent) of voters now wanting to reverse Brexit – the highest level recorded by BMG Research in its series of surveys for the i newspaper.

BMG Research interviewed a representative sample of 1,529 adults in Britain online between May 30 and 31 for the survey.

An EU Flag flown by an anti-Brexit protester is seen with a Union Flag set on a flag pole in Parliament sq1uare in front of the Houses of Parliament in London. Picture: Tolga Akmen/AFP via Getty Images

More than one-in-ten Leave voters (11 per cent) also want to re-join the EU, while more Brexit backers (14 per cent) say they would vote the opposite way in the 2016 referendum if they could go back in time, compared to just 4 per cent of Remainers (4 per cent).

Many more voters (48 per cent) would now prefer a closer economic relationship with the EU than remaining on the current terms of the trade deal negotiated by Boris Johnson and built upon by Rishi Sunak with his Windsor Framework agreement on Northern Ireland (33 per cent). It comes amid very negative views about the impacts of Brexit.

Many more voters said Brexit had a negative rather than positive impact on the economy (net score -42 per cent), the NHS and public services (-34 per cent), the political situation in Northern Ireland (-33 per cent), the UK’s ability to influence other countries (-28 per cent), the UK’s standing in the world (-27 per cent) and the laws and regulations people and businesses had to follow (-21 per cent).

Despite global free trade deals being a major “Brexit benefit” touted by the Leave campaign, many more voters believe leaving the block has had a negative impact on commerce with non-EU countries (-21 per cent). Voters also recognise the impact of lost trade with EU countries (-45 per cent).

The only issue polled that did not receive a negative rating was Brexit’s impact on the UK’s ability to respond to Covid-19 or future pandemics, with a net score of zero.

Rob Struthers, head of polling at BMG, said more Leave voters were noticing the negative impacts of leaving the EU.

“On issues such as the economy, migration, the NHS, and the cost of living, more of those who voted to leave in 2016 say the impact is negative than positive,” he said.

“This is also not a static picture; the public is becoming increasingly negative about the effects of Brexit.

“Compared to when we last asked this question in November, on most of the areas we asked about, there has been an increase in the share saying the impact will be negative, with the biggest shifts seen in areas such as the economy, NHS and cost of living.

“In this month’s poll we also see the largest lead for re-joining the EU over staying out that we have recorded since we started tracking this question. These numbers should leave little doubt as to why.”

Results from the poll have also shown nearly two-thirds of voters believe Brexit has contributed to runaway inflation and soaring food prices that have left the UK mired in a cost-of-living crisis.

A majority (62 per cent) believe Brexit has had a negative impact on food prices in supermarkets and the broader cost of living (60 per cent), the BMG Research showed.

A large number of Leave voters also believe leaving the EU has contributed to surging food costs (42 per cent), and the cost of living (36 per cent), although many also believe it has had no impact on supermarket prices (39 per cent) or inflation (43 per cent).

In figures that put further pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, more Tory voters believe Brexit has had a negative impact on food prices (48 per cent) and inflation (42 per cent) than those who think leaving the EU has made no difference (34 per cent for food prices and 40 per cent for inflation).

It comes after the Prime Minister’s nascent plans for a voluntary price cap on food basics in supermarkets were criticised by the industry and some senior Tories this week.

The move, likened to Tory ex-PM Edward Heath’s 1970s price controls, illustrated how Mr Sunak is struggling to get a grip of the cost-of-living crisis amid stubbornly high price rises for food.

Responding to reports of a potential supermarket price cap this week, the Food and Drink Federation partly blamed Brexit-related factors for high prices, highlighting “friction at the UK’s borders and persistent labour shortages”, alongside separate concerns about recycling regulation.

The UK Government is nonetheless pushing ahead with the introduction of full border controls and customs checks for EU food imports from October 31, after delaying them last year to help ease the cost of living.

Mr Struthers said: “Nigel Farage said Brexit has failed, and it appears the public largely agrees.

“In not a single policy area do we find more of the public saying our EU exit has had a positive than negative impact.

“And on the issue that is probably hitting most Britons the hardest in the pockets at the moment, the cost of the food at the supermarket, the impact is the worst of any of the areas listed.

“As many as six in ten say the effect of Brexit has been negative here, with only one in ten positive.”

It was reported this week that ministers believe food inflation may have peaked after it fell to 15.4 per cent in the year to May (down 0.2 per cent from April), according to a survey by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Nielsen.

But food prices continue to rise at a high rate.

The BRC figures suggested a person who spent around £20 in a food shop a year ago would now be paying a little over £23 for the same items.

The official consumer prices index food measure for April stands at 19.1 per cent.