16% of public still believe Brexit is going well, poll finds

Small minority of public still looking on the bright side

Jacob Rees-Mogg is the minister for Brexit opportunities (AFP via Getty Images)

A full 16 per cent of the British public still believe Brexit is going well, a new poll has found.

A new survey by pollsters YouGov found a significant majority of people, 54 per cent, think Britain's EU exit is going badly, with 20 per cent saying neither.

The number of people saying Brexit is going badly has ticked up steadily since the end of the transition period in January 2021.

At that point fewer than 40 per cent were prepared to say things were not going well, with a majority giving the project the benefit of the doubt.

But the tide of public opinion has turned as setbacks become more clear and obvious benefits fail to materialise.

Lord Frost, who negotiated the Brexit agreements with the EU, last week said in a speech that Brexit was going well and accused critics of having an “axe to grind”.

But issues attributed to the government's flagship manifesto policy include food rotting in fields, problems for British exporters, and a meltdown at UK airports over the summer holiday period.

Other problems include a shortage of lorry drivers, fishermen crying betrayal, and the reintroduction of mobile phone roaming charges for British travellers. Official figures suggest trade and economic growth are both being hit by the policy.

The survey comes as Boris Johnson reignites a running battle with Brussels over the Northern Ireland border, with new legislation that would give ministers powers to ignore parts of the Brexit deal.

The prime minister says the deal he signed is not working for Northern Ireland, where some loyalists are angry at new checks imposed by the protocol.

A breakdown of the new poll's results show Tory voters were the most optimistic about Brexit, with a full 33 per cent keeping the faith and saying the project was going very or fairly well.

28 per cent said it was going very or fairly badly, while 33 per cent hedged their bets and said neither.

But Leave voters in general were split down the middle, with 31 per cent saying Brexit was going well and 31 per cent saying badly.

Both Lib Dem and Labour voters thought leaving was going badly by significant margins. Just 3 per cent of each thought it was going well at all, and over 70 over cent badly in both cases.

Six per cent of 2016 remain voters have since come around to the idea of leaving and say Brexit is going well.

Boris Johnson this year appointed Jacob Rees-Mogg as the minister for “Brexit opportunities” in a bid to help find positives to the UK’s departure.