Brits regret Brexit but rejoining the EU is unlikely

Protests and demands for the UK to rejoin the EU are growing steadily in the UK, where most are saying Brexit has failed.

Transcript

00:00 In the UK, there's consistent growth in the number of people who say they regret Brexit.

00:05 Around 62% of Britons believe leaving the EU is a failure, according to the UK polling

00:10 company YouGov. Food prices have risen 25% from January 2021, a consequence of the extra

00:16 trade barriers from leaving the single market. Meanwhile, researchers at the Centre for European

00:21 Reform say business investment was 23% lower than it would have been in 2021 due to Brexit.

00:28 Rejoiners say the public is ahead of politicians in calling for the UK to rejoin the EU.

00:34 I think it's the reality of the cost of living crisis that people who may have been wrapped

00:39 up in the ideology, the debates that we had six years, seven years ago about all that

00:46 sovereignty stuff, Britain standing on its own, all that sort of stuff, have just come

00:50 face to face with the fact that there are more important things in life. Can you feed

00:53 your kids? Right now, half of low-income families in the UK are skipping meals to feed their

00:58 kids. We cannot afford Brexit. If we can't afford food, we can't afford Brexit.

01:03 But the process in joining the EU is deeply complex. Moreover, there's no precedent for

01:07 a country rejoining, and the EU has changed significantly since the UK voted to leave

01:12 in 2016. Meanwhile, there are several other countries waiting in the wings, including

01:18 Ukraine, as well as countries in the Western Balkans. However, it can be said that the

01:23 UK side has decided to have a more pragmatic, closer relationship with Brussels in recent

01:28 months, including when the British rejoined the EU's Horizon Science programme.

01:36 First and foremost, we'll be talking about an entirely new discussion. It will not be

01:42 about a possible UK rejoining on past terms. And then I think there's a very interesting

01:49 point you're pointing to, which is the EU is in an enlargement process now, not only

01:54 about the Western Balkans, it's also about Ukraine, it's also about Moldova and potentially

01:59 beyond. And that is, in itself, a very big challenge to the EU.

02:05 Meanwhile, there's no appetite currently for politicians on either side, either the UK

02:10 or the EU, to reopen what was a deeply corrosive debate. Polls show a strong outlook for a

02:15 Labour-led government in the UK in the next year. However, its leader Keir Starmer has

02:20 ruled out a return to the EU. Shona Murray, Euronews, Brussels.

02:24 (whooshing)