London, 26 March 2019 – Fresh data from the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) reveal only 7% of UK public think that the UK government has been handling the negotiations well. Both pro and against Brexit are not happy with how the whole process is unfolding: now overall 81% of the public think the government is handling negotiations badly and in particular 80% of Leave and 85% of Remain voters believe the government is handling Britain’s exit badly.
A concerning figure emerges from NatChen survey: over a third of young people, 37%, have no strong attachment to either side of the Brexit debate. Disengagement among young people probably determined a leave vote in the 2016 referendum that counted only 4% gap between leave and remain. Today the young could make a stark difference in case of a second referendum, but over a third of British young population with no interest in such an historic and life changing issue which will primarily affect their lives has to be understood a symptom of failing politics, not able to engage and establish trust among future generations.
The number of those who think an exit from the EU will impact immigration levels decreased by 2%: 50% don’t believe Brexit will affect immigration levels at all (48% in 2017), while those who retain it will negatively impact the economy has increased: 58% in 2019 vs 46% in 2017.
A new awareness also made leavers change their minds and see the negative impact on economy: 25% of the public now say the economy will be worse off after Britain leaves the EU compared to 15% of Leavers who held this view in 2017; more in-depth: leavers voters convinced economy will be better off decreased by 13%: 41% of Leave voters now say the economy will be better off after Brexit compared to 54% in 2017. Just 4% of Remainers agree that the economy will be better off with the majority (83%) saying it will suffer after Brexit.
One more relevant finding from this latest NatChen survey on differences in attitudes by educational background: in 2017, 54% without qualifications supported Brexit now they are the 43% a change by twenty-five percentage points.
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