From Brexit To 'Bregret': Why More Britons Now Think Leaving The EU Was A Mistake

Last Updated:June 22, 2026, 16:15 IST

A decade after Britons left the EU, Brexit remains one of the key political decisions of the 21st century. But as economic challenges remain, many Britons are questioning Brexit

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s resignation on Monday, days after intense pressure from Labour MPs, has once again thrust Britain into political uncertainty, and has revived an older debate on Brexit.

Ten years after the UK voted to leave the European Union, the referendum continues to shape elections, economic policy, immigration and Britain’s place in the world. What was sold as a path to greater sovereignty and prosperity has evolved into a national conversation defined by “Bregret" — the growing feeling among many voters that Brexit has failed to deliver what it promised.

Thus, it is no longer just about Britain leaving the European Union. It is about why a referendum fought on promises of taking back control continues to divide the country and why its economic and political consequences remain impossible to ignore.

How Brexit Changed Britain

The Brexit referendum was built around a simple message: “Take Back Control". Supporters argued that leaving the European Union would allow Britain to regain control over its laws, borders and economy. They promised fewer regulations, stronger public services, more independent trade policies and tighter immigration controls.

For many voters, Brexit represented an opportunity to reclaim national sovereignty after decades of European integration.

The referendum delivered a narrow but historic victory for the Leave campaign, fundamentally reshaping Britain’s relationship with its largest trading partner and triggering one of the most significant political realignments in modern European history.

Britain formally left the European Union on December 31, 2020, ending a sometimes turbulent 47-year relationship with the world’s largest trading bloc. The departure marked the culmination of years of political negotiations, parliamentary battles and deep national divisions that reshaped British politics.

Nearly six years later, Brexit’s economic impact remains a subject of intense debate, but many economists agree that it has weighed on Britain’s growth by increasing trade barriers and business costs. The country has also witnessed an unprecedented churn in political leadership, with the country seeing six prime minister change in the last 10 years.

Brexit A ‘Constant Drag’ On The UK Economy

While Brexit has given London greater freedom to negotiate its own trade deals and set independent rules in areas such as financial services and artificial intelligence, many Britons say those benefits have yet to translate into tangible improvements in their everyday lives.

Britain has also pursued bilateral partnerships with countries including India, Australia and New Zealand. Yet Brexit has introduced new trade barriers with the European Union — Britain’s largest export market.

Michel Barnier, the EU’s negotiator on the Brexit deal and a former French prime minister, told Reuters that not all of Britain’s challenges were due to it leaving the EU. “I think that each and every difficulty in the UK is more serious because of Brexit," he added.

Businesses now navigate customs declarations, regulatory checks and additional paperwork that did not exist before 2020. Small exporters have been particularly affected, with many struggling to absorb higher compliance costs.

The UK’s fiscal watchdog has estimated that Brexit could reduce the country’s long-term economic output by around 4% compared with continued EU membership, making it one of the most significant structural changes to Britain’s economy in decades.

According to a paper by the National Bureau of Economic Research, by the end of 2025, Brexit had reduced UK GDP by 6% to 8%, with the impact accumulating steadily over time. Moreover, investment was reduced by 12% to 13%, employment by 3% to 4% and productivity by 3% to 4%.

“Brexit is a constant drag on the economy," said Michael Saunders, a senior adviser at consultancy Oxford Economics and a former Bank of England official. It “continues to reduce the level of gross domestic product compared to what it would otherwise be," diminishing government revenue and prompting tax hikes and spending cuts, he told CNN.

Before Brexit, the UK was part of the EU’s single market and customs union, allowing goods, people and capital to move freely across borders. For businesses, trading with Europe was almost as seamless as selling within Britain itself.

That changed after Brexit. A truck carrying potatoes from southeast England to Paris now has to clear customs formalities, submit health certificates and comply with additional regulatory checks that did not exist before. What was once a routine cross-border shipment has become a far more time-consuming and expensive process.

The added bureaucracy has been felt across industries. German engineering giant Bosch, for instance, says its UK operations now process around 10,000 import transactions every year, compared with just 40 annually before Brexit.

Surveys conducted by the British Chambers of Commerce since 2021 have also consistently found that a majority of businesses believe the UK-EU trade agreement has done little to boost sales or make trading with Europe easier.

The Immigration Paradox

Immigration was one of the defining issues of the referendum campaign. The expectation among many Leave supporters was that ending free movement from the EU would significantly reduce migration. Instead, Britain has witnessed record levels of net migration.

Net migration to the UK has averaged 550,000 a year since 2021, when the post-Brexit immigration system came into force, compared to 250,000 in the 2010s, according to the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford. In 2023, net migration was just under 950,000, an all-time high, as immigration by non-EU citizens spiked before dropping sharply with the introduction of new policies.

According to a YouGov poll published earlier this month, six in 10 Brits think Brexit has been a failure.

The composition of immigration has changed rather than disappeared. European workers have increasingly been replaced by migrants from countries such as India, Nigeria and Pakistan through skilled worker and student visa programmes designed to address labour shortages. This unexpected outcome has complicated one of Brexit’s central political promises.

The Rise Of ‘Bregret’

Perhaps the biggest change over the past decade has been public sentiment.

According to a poll conducted by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) on Sunday, up to two thirds of British voters, across all party lines, believe Britain’s decision to leave the EU has had a negative impact on the ‌country.

The poll, conducted from May 7 to 14 ​among more than 2,000 respondents, showed two thirds thought ​Brexit drove up the cost of living and had ⁠a negative impact on the economy.

Of those polled, ​56% thought leaving the EU was bad for tackling illegal ​migration, for trade and red tape, 57% believed it reduced chances for young ‌people, ⁠and 57% believed it was “wrong" for Britain to leave the EU. Three quarters now wanted closer ties with the EU, the ECFR said.

The poll also showed Britons chose Europe over the US as ​a preferred security ​partner with only ⁠18% viewing the US as an ally.

Even many voters who supported Leave acknowledge that the expected economic benefits have been slower to materialise than anticipated.

Despite changing public opinion, Brexit remains one of Britain’s strongest political identities.

Many people still describe themselves as “Leavers" or “Remainers", illustrating how the referendum created social and cultural divisions that extend beyond policy.

Rather than closing a chapter, Brexit has become a permanent fault line in British politics.

About the Author

Shilpy Bisht

Shilpy Bisht is a News Editor at News18, where she leads the English app operations. She writes on world affairs, health, AI, career, business, and issues affecting women and children. A former print ...Read More

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