GD&TĐ – The British public participated in a nationwide poll, supporting a vote to return to the European Union (EU).

According to a nationwide poll, more Britons want to return to the European Union (EU), Politico reported on August 13.

Eight years after the UK’s Brexit vote, 59% of respondents backed returning to the EU, according to a survey by polling organisation YouGo.

At the same time, survey respondents believe that Britain needs a closer relationship with the European Union.

41% of respondents said the UK should forge a closer relationship with the EU that does not involve rejoining the bloc, the single market or the customs union.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has stressed that Labour will not seek to rejoin the EU or its single market or customs union during his premiership. The 61-year-old has said rejoining will not happen in his lifetime.

YouGov found that a majority of voters (51 per cent) believe that Labour’s landslide election victory does not give Starmer the power to rejoin the EU. 21 per cent of respondents believe that Mr Starmer has the power to do so.

Those who voted for Brexit in 2016, by a margin of 36% to 36%, said he had a duty to promote closer ties between Britain and the EU.

The  Labour manifesto promises to reset the UK’s trade and investment relationship with the EU and seek a security treaty, Politico said.

David Lammy’s first overseas trip as foreign secretary was to Germany, Poland and Sweden in an attempt to signal a reset in relations after a period of tension under the Conservatives.

In a survey in late November 2023, YouGov also received similar information when 52% of respondents now believe that leaving the EU was a mistake, and 70% want a closer relationship with the bloc.

The poll also found that 57% of Britons would support joining the single market, even if it meant restoring freedom of movement, a key factor in the decision to leave the EU in 2016.

Media assessments show that the British public has yet to see the benefits of leaving the EU that politicians promised. Trade data is one of the clearest examples of the damage caused by Brexit.

Former EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said Brexit is in no one’s interest and is a lose-lose game for both the UK and the EU. He said the door is still open and the UK can rejoin the EU at any time, but the final decision is still in the UK’s hands.