Bregret! The regret over Brexit
Public sentiment regarding the UK's decision to leave the European Union, known as Brexit, seems to be at a historically low point, as revealed by recent polling. The data shows that a mere 9% of UK citizens view Brexit as more successful than not.
The term "Bregret" has been coined to describe regret over Brexit, and this sentiment appears to be at its highest level. In a survey conducted by YouGov, 62% of respondents regard Brexit as more of a disappointment than a triumph, and notably, this includes 37% of those who voted in favor of leaving the EU. Even Nigel Farage, a prominent advocate for Brexit, has admitted that the UK's economy has yet to see any advantages since leaving the EU.
The survey suggests that only 31% of respondents believe it was the correct decision to leave the EU, the lowest level recorded. Meanwhile, 56% of respondents believe it was the wrong decision. Interestingly, 22% of those who initially voted in favor of leaving the EU now believe it was the wrong choice, according to the data from YouGov.
Many respondents who view Brexit as a failure blame the Conservative Party for its unsuccessful implementation, with 75% suggesting that Brexit could have been successful if managed properly. However, there are others who believe that Brexit was destined to fail from the beginning, with 56% of people who view Brexit as a failure stating that it was always going to be unsuccessful and there was nothing that any government could do to make it a success.
Farage has stated that the economic benefits of Brexit have not materialized due to incompetent politicians from the Conservative Party who mismanaged the process of leaving the EU. In response to this situation, there have been calls for the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, to renegotiate the Brexit deal. There are warnings that without changes, the car industry in the UK faces a significant existential threat, putting thousands of jobs in jeopardy.
Despite these criticisms, the government maintains that the country is reaping the benefits of Brexit. They point to the freedoms that the British farming sector is now enjoying as an example of how Brexit is allowing the UK to create policies that are better tailored to its needs. During a trip to Japan for the G7, Sunak also mentioned that Brexit has led to reduced prices for beer and sanitary products.
Nevertheless, there has been controversy within the Conservative Party after the government decided to revise plans to remove leftover EU rules from the British statute books. This decision has angered Brexit-supporting Conservative MPs as only 600 retained EU laws are to be revoked, rather than the 4,000 initially pledged.
Therese Coffey, the environment secretary, defended the decision, suggesting that the reforms enabled by the new legislation could still result in a reduction in the price of a bottle of wine by as much as 50p. She mentioned that they've been reviewing a variety of regulations from the European Union, including those related to wine, which currently are governed by 400 pages of regulations. They believe that many of these regulations can be removed, which could potentially lead to significant savings for consumers​