Most Britons have consistently held the view that Brexit was a mistake for a number of years, according to survey data.

In a YouGov study conducted in early June 2026, 57 per cent of adult respondents stated that, looking back, the nation made the wrong decision when voting to leave the European Union.

That proportion has consistently exceeded 50 per cent across all YouGov surveys since the summer of 2022, although it has never surpassed 58 per cent.

Conversely, only 30 per cent of participants in the recent poll maintained that leaving was correct.

Andy Burnham has said he is open to reversing Brexit, insisting he could go “all the way” in proposing to rejoin the European Union.

The prime minister, who has blamed Brexit for a decade of drift and division, declared it was “not good enough” simply to leave the issue “hanging”.

Support for the decision has failed to cross the 50 per cent threshold in any research carried out by YouGov throughout the decade following the June 2016 vote.

Approval reached a high of 47 per cent shortly after the referendum before declining, remaining under 40 per cent since early 2022 and dropping to a low of 29 per cent this May.

YouGov’s data suggests 64 per cent of Leave voters still stand by their vote for Brexit, but nearly a quarter (23 per cent) now believe the UK was wrong to leave the EU.

By contrast, 89 per cent of 2016 Remain voters think the referendum decision was wrong, with just 6 per cent feeling the UK made the right choice in spite of their vote.

Some 80 per cent of people who said they backed Reform UK at the 2024 general election think the UK was right to leave the EU, along with 56 per cent of Conservative supporters.

The numbers are much smaller for those who backed Labour (13 per cent), the Liberal Democrats (13 per cent) and the Greens (10 per cent).

These three parties have the largest proportion of supporters who think Britain was wrong to leave the EU, with 79 per cent for Labour, 83 per cent for the Lib Dems and 85 per cent for the Greens.

When it comes to rejoining the EU, public opinion is less clear and tends to be shaped by the type of question asked by different polling companies.

YouGov’s latest poll suggests 55 per cent of adults support the principle of the UK rejoining the European Union, with 34 per cent against.

But if rejoining meant not having any of the opt-outs from EU policy that were in place during the UK’s previous membership, support falls to 35 per cent while opposition rises to 43 per cent.

A poll carried out in May by Opinium suggests just 36 per cent of adults agree the UK should rejoin the EU.

A further 21 per cent say the country should remain outside the EU but negotiate a closer relationship than now, however.

In a separate survey done by Ipsos in May, 52 per cent of respondents said they would vote in a new referendum to apply to rejoin, while 33 per cent would vote to stay out.

Among those likely to vote in a referendum, those in favour of applying to rejoin rises to 58 per cent, with 37 per cent against and 4 per cent saying they do not know.

Ipsos broke down its poll by age and current party support.

The figures suggest support for applying to join the EU is highest among 18 to 34-year-olds (68 per cent), then 35 to 54-year-olds (58 per cent) and those aged 55 and over (37 per cent).

Support is strongest among supporters of the Greens (86 per cent), Labour (84 per cent) and the Lib Dems (80 per cent), but is much lower among those who support the Conservatives (38 per cent) and Reform (17 per cent).

Ipsos interviewed 1,137 British adults between 14-20 May 2026; Opinium interviewed 2,050 UK adults on 20-22 May 2026; while YouGov’s latest poll was carried out among 2,114 British adults on 2 and 3 June.