Thursday 22 October 2026 5:17 am  |  Updated:  Wednesday 21 October 2026 2:22 pm

What does the public really think about rejoining the EU?

By: Michael Turner

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It’s pure delusion to conclude that rejoining the European Union would cure our financial woes and the public knows it, says Dr Michael Turner

Andy Burnham wants to reopen Pandora’s box. After solemnly promising before the Makerfield by-election that Brexit was settled, the Prime Minister now concludes that all options are on the table as part of a rethink of Britain’s relationship with the bloc. He joins a chorus of Westminster sentimentalists who insist Britain’s current economic stagnation is a purely self-inflicted wound from Brexit in 2016, and that only rejoining can resolve it. It’s a seductive narrative that suits a government with many problems, but few ideas. But it fundamentally misdiagnoses the issue.

Our latest City AM / Freshwater Strategy Poll shows the public’s lacklustre mood: two-thirds (66 per cent) of UK voters believe the country is heading in the wrong direction, while a similar number (65 per cent) are not confident in the government’s plan to achieve economic growth. Meanwhile, half (50 per cent) expect the national economy to worsen over the next 12 months, and half believe that raising taxes in the forthcoming budget would demonstrate the government’s economic failure rather than prudence. 

It’s pure........

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