Only a quarter of Brits believe Brexit has 'gone well' so far - poll

5 February 2021, 19:01

Brits have revealed what they think of Brexit so far. Picture: PA Images

By Ewan Quayle

Only a quarter of Brits believe Brexit has "gone well" since the transition period ended in December, a new poll suggests.

While Covid-19 has been at the forefront of most people's minds in recent months, Brexit briefly took centre stage once again at the end of 2020 as negotiators tried to strike a last-minute trade deal.

Boris Johnson hailed the new start with the European Union on January 1 as “an amazing moment” for the country.

Since then, businesses across Britain have been telling LBC about their struggles with trade and delays in getting supplies, while politicians have warned about the prospect of the Union breaking up in the coming years.

But how do Brits think relations have been since we left the EU?

A YouGov poll has shown that 42% of the public think Brexit has been handled badly so far, while 25% believe our new relationship with Europe has been going well.

The most common view (23%) - almost one in four people - was that has been going "very badly" since the transition period came to an end on December 31 2020.

A YouGov poll has shown that most people think Brexit is going badly. Picture: YouGov

The polling firm interviewed over 4,100 adults across Great Britain - one of the largest surveys of Brits' feelings on Brexit since the UK left the EU.

Scottish respondents were the most negative about the situation, with 58% saying it has gone badly so far, while the Midlands and Wales were the happiest with how things have turned out - 31% saying they believe it is going "fairly well" or "very well".

But many Brits are in the middle - 21% saying that things are going "neither well nor badly".

The data reveals the age divide on Brexit remains strong but shows signs of closing, with 46% of under-65s thinking it has gone badly so far and 20% believing it has gone well.

Significantly, almost a third (32%) of over-65s also think it has gone badly since December but more (38%) believe things have been going well.

A political divide also remains, with 52% of respondents who are Conservative voters telling YouGov they think things have gone well, compared to just 7% of Labour and Liberal Democrat supporters.