Just 1 in 5 Brexit voters think it’s going well on 7th anniversary of controversial vote

By Mehmet Solmaz

BIRMINGHAM, England (AA) — Only 18% of those who voted Leave in the UK’s 2016 Brexit referendum think the decision has turned out “well” or “very well," according to a new poll.

Friday marks the seventh anniversary of the Brexit referendum, and a major study by research firm Public First found that 26% of Leave voters think it’s still “too soon to say” whether the outcome of the referendum for the country was good.

Public First’s polling was done for the think-tank UK in a Changing Europe, and the pollsters asked more than 4,000 leavers how they feel now about Brexit.

In the 2016 referendum, voters backed quitting the bloc by 52% to 48%, and the strains of the divorce are still being felt.

Some 63% of Leave voters who believe Brexit turned out negatively blame government leaders, saying: “UK politicians were ineffective and failed to get a good deal.”

Still, two-thirds of Leavers oppose a second referendum, and among Brexiteers who think it is going badly, 40% would vote to rejoin the bloc while 30% want to stay outside.

- Many industries suffer consequences

Trade figures show that the UK’s economy has suffered major blows from exiting the bloc.

Recent figures show that UK meat and fish exports to the EU have slumped by almost half since Brexit. A government analysis of trade data has shown a 42% decline in the sector since exiting the EU’s single market on Dec. 31, 2020.

Exports of fruits from the UK to the EU, including traditional English apples and pears, have fallen more than half since Brexit, according to data from HM Revenue and Customs.

- London mayor’s office barred from flying EU flag

Pro-EU London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s City Hall office was told it could be prosecuted for flying the EU flag on the anniversary of the Brexit referendum as a goodwill gesture.

Khan’s office had announced a plan to fly the flag in solidarity with the capital’s European residents.

But officials dropped the plan after being told that they would have been liable to criminal prosecution because the government has changed regulations.