Only 18 per cent of Britons think Brexit is going well, poll finds – The Independent

Fewer than one in five people in Great Britain believe Brexit has been a success, a YouGov poll has found.

Meanwhile, 52 per cent of respondents think that things have gone badly since the transition period ended 11 months ago.

The percentage of Britons dissatisfied with the effects of the divorce hovered around 40 per cent at the start of the year. However, this figure has shot up in recent months, following the petrol crisis in September, which was sparked by a shortage of HGV drivers.

The latest numbers are likely to make grim reading for a government that continues to suggest Brexit is in the best interest of the country.

The electorate now thinks Brexit is the largest single issue facing the UK, according to an Ipsos Mori survey carried out last month.

Some 28 per cent of people viewed it as the most pressing concern, slightly more than those who thought the pandemic should be the governments main focus.

In September, it was the other way around, with 37 per cent of voters deciding Covid-19 was the nations most urgent problem and 20 per cent thinking it was Brexit.

The increased concern over Brexit came around the same time that Richard Hughes, the chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) warned that the decision to leave the bloc would reduce our long run GDP by around 4 per cent.

By comparison, Mr Hughes, speaking after the Budget was announced on 27 October, estimated that the impact of the pandemic would lower the countrys GDP by roughly another 2 per cent.

Other Brexit headaches include the UKs ongoing fishing dispute with France, which flared up again on Friday, as French fishermen blocked ports and the Channel Tunnel over a disagreement about operating licences.

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Only 18 per cent of Britons think Brexit is going well, poll finds - The Independent