The survey, published earlier this month by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), a Berlin-based think tank, found that voters across the political spectrum—including supporters of the right-wing populist Reform UK party—believe Brexit has had a negative impact on the country.
Sixty-six percent of those surveyed said leaving the EU had worsened the cost of living, while 65 percent said it had harmed the economy and 57 percent said it had reduced opportunities for young people.
Fifty-six percent of respondents said Brexit had compounded the country's problems with illegal immigration, and the same percentage said it had hurt trade by increasing red tape.
Notably, 58 percent of those who voted to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum said Brexit had made illegal immigration worse, even though border control was one of the central arguments of the Leave campaign.
When asked to identify Brexit's main benefits, the most common response was "don't know," followed by "none of the above."
Overall, 57 percent of respondents said Britain had been wrong to leave the EU.
The poll also found growing support for closer ties with Europe.
Three-quarters of respondents favoured a closer relationship with the EU, while 46 percent backed closer economic integration, compared with 13 percent who opposed it. Even among Reform UK supporters, respondents favoured closer economic ties by a margin of 49 percent to 20 percent, according to the ECFR.
When asked about security, respondents overwhelmingly preferred Europe over the United States as Britain's closest partner. Only 18 percent viewed the United States as an ally, while most identified countries including France, Germany, Poland and Spain as partners sharing Britain's values.
Some 58 percent supported closer defence cooperation with Europe, compared with 19 percent who preferred stronger defence ties with the United States. Forty-seven percent said they would turn to the EU in a major crisis, while only 10 percent would look first to Washington.
The survey also found growing public support for policies once considered politically untouchable after Brexit, including restoring freedom of movement with the EU, closer economic integration, a European nuclear deterrent independent of the United States and even British participation in a European army.
Support for closer integration extended beyond those who backed leaving the EU in 2016.
The ECFR said 57 percent of Leave voters now support freedom of movement, while only 66 percent said they would vote to remain outside the EU if another referendum were held.
Mark Leonard, the ECFR's founding director, said the findings suggest British public opinion has shifted significantly since the referendum.
"While Westminster obsesses about the divide between remainers and leavers, the public have started to move on, thinking about how to live in a world that looks very different from 10 years ago," he said.
(gs)
Source: ecfr.eu