Thursday, March 30, 2023
Regrets, we've had a few
The Independent reports on an interesting poll that shows that the British public has more confidence in the EU than the UK parliament.
The paper says that confidence in the Westminster parliament has plummeted 10 points to just 22 per cent since the Brexit referendum, and that although the popularity of the EU has lagged behind parliament among Britons since the early 1980s, confidence in Brussels has shot up seven points to 39 per cent since Brexit:
The findings came from analysis of more than 20 countries by the Policy Institute at King’s College London (KCL) as part of the World Values Survey – one of the largest social surveys in the world.
In further evidence of Brexit regret, only 24 per cent of people said they were “happy” with Britain’s exit from bloc. Some 49 per cent said they unhappy about it.
Professor Bobby Duffy, director of the KCL Policy Institute said: “Confidence in parliament has halved since 1990; we’re among the least likely of more than 20 countries in the study to have confidence in the government.”
He added: “Our confidence in the EU has also bounced back post-Brexit, and now we’re much more likely to have confidence in it than our own parliament and government.”
Of course this is just one poll, but it does show the sort of shift in attitudes that should encourage pro-EU parties like the Liberal Democrats to be a bit more assertive in the way that they campaign on this issue. How about it, Ed Davey?
The paper says that confidence in the Westminster parliament has plummeted 10 points to just 22 per cent since the Brexit referendum, and that although the popularity of the EU has lagged behind parliament among Britons since the early 1980s, confidence in Brussels has shot up seven points to 39 per cent since Brexit:
The findings came from analysis of more than 20 countries by the Policy Institute at King’s College London (KCL) as part of the World Values Survey – one of the largest social surveys in the world.
In further evidence of Brexit regret, only 24 per cent of people said they were “happy” with Britain’s exit from bloc. Some 49 per cent said they unhappy about it.
Professor Bobby Duffy, director of the KCL Policy Institute said: “Confidence in parliament has halved since 1990; we’re among the least likely of more than 20 countries in the study to have confidence in the government.”
He added: “Our confidence in the EU has also bounced back post-Brexit, and now we’re much more likely to have confidence in it than our own parliament and government.”
Of course this is just one poll, but it does show the sort of shift in attitudes that should encourage pro-EU parties like the Liberal Democrats to be a bit more assertive in the way that they campaign on this issue. How about it, Ed Davey?
