Opinion in hindsight
On the question: ‘Brexit vote – right or wrong?’ public opinion has more than reversed compared to the 2016 referendum result.
66% currently think the Brexit vote was wrong and 34% think it right (with don’t knows removed) (YouGov 3 June 2026 – see Figure 17.3). On the same basis, the referendum result was 48% to 52%.
This means there has been a swing of thirty-six percentage points since the 2016 referendum. The margin of wrong over right in June 2026 is 32% compared to 4% in the opposite direction at the referendum in 2016.
These 376 polls repeat the same question consistently from 1 August 2016, so they indicate the trend and the ‘widening jaws’ well.
Figure 17.3: In hindsight, do you think Britain was right or wrong to vote to leave the EU?
Source: NatCen Social Research
With the don’t knows included, public opinion in June 2026 reads:
- 57% think that Brexit was the wrong decisions and 30% right, with 12% don’t knows;
- 23% of Leave voters have changed their minds, but most Leave voters (64%) still believe it was the right decision, as do most Conservative voters in the 2024 General Election (56%) and Reform UK voters (80%);
- 79% of Labour voters in GE2024 think it was the wrong decision, as do 83% of Lib Dem voters and 85% of Green voters.
Figure 17.4: Views on whether Brexit was the right or wrong decision (June 2026)
