Brexit is very far from bringing the promised fruits to the citizens of the United Kingdom and the majority is now betting on a closer relationship with the European Union (EU), seven years after the crucial referendum campaign, which opened a schism in the society still unhealed.
The widespread discontent with the effects of the departure of the community club is confirmed in the report Beyond Brexit: Public perspectives on the future UK-EU relationship. , carried out by the think tank British Future.
The study suggests that 52% want London to strengthen relations with Brussels, compared to 27% who prefer to maintain the current distance and 12% who want to cut more ties.
Furthermore, 48% give more importance to the link with the EU in the areas of peace, stability and prosperity than to the United States (27%) and the Commonwealth (25%), considered by some as historical allies intertwined by an imperial heritage and colonial.
Security, trade, research and the labor sphere stand out among the areas where collaboration with the EU is most appreciated among those consulted in opinion polls and in debate groups organized in different regions of the country.
Brexit ended the freedom of movement of EU nationals with the purpose of looking for work or taking up a job in the United Kingdom. Those displaced from 2021 onwards need a visa and special license to work or study as an au pair in the four British nations.
The British face similar restrictions on the continent and six in ten (6.1%) would support “closer collaboration on emigration” between the old European partners, both for work and study
The authors of the study warn, however, that the desire to get closer to the EU is a pragmatic phenomenon rather than a consequence of common values and identities. Less than 10% identify as European citizens and 59% would welcome a tone down the often acrimonious tone of the EU debate in British politics.
In this sense, a next Labor government would enjoy “political space” to explore new relations with Brussels, although they would have to act “gradually and with a focus on cooperation at a practical level”, according to Heather Rolfe, research director at British Future. .
Under the direction of Rishi Sunak, the Conservative Executive has reached agreements with the EU in the last year regarding Northern Ireland, the Horizon scientific research program and in areas of the migration crisis, among other matters.
Opposition leader Keir Starmer, who has put Labor in position to win the 2024 election in all recent voting intention polls, has promised to redirect relations with Brussels without reintroducing the country to the single market and customs union .