The Cost of Brexit: Brits Say EU Exit Drove up Prices, New Poll Finds

The Cost of BrexitBrits Say EU Exit Drove up Prices, New Poll Finds

An exclusive poll for Byline Times finds that seven-in-ten voters believe leaving the EU has made life in the UK more expensive

Seven-in-ten voters believe that life in the UK has become more expensive because of Brexit, according to an exclusive new poll for Byline Times.

The poll, conducted by pollsters Omnisis, found that 67% of British voters surveyed think that leaving the EU has driven up prices.

Brexit supporters had predicted that leaving the EU would lead to prices dropping in the UK.

Boris Johnson promised that leaving the EU would cause energy prices to fall, while a 2016 report by the right-wing think tank the Institute for Economic Affairs predicted that food costs would also tumble after Brexit.

However, today’s poll finds that just 5% of voters surveyed believe that leaving the EU has driven down the cost of living in the UK.

This perception is backed up by an academic study earlier this year, which found that Brexit has in fact increased food prices by 6% across the UK.

The London School of Economics study found that the increase in import costs from the EU had led to a spike in the cost of many common supermarket goods.

“The reason for these price increases is straightforward,” the report found, adding that “additional barriers at the border such as checks, increased waiting times, and additional paperwork are costly for producers”.

The Byline Times poll also found a clear majority now believe that Brexit has been negative for the UK as a whole.

64% of all those polled said that Brexit had been negative for the country compared to just 36% who said it had been positive.

Around a third – 34% – of former Leave voters agreed that leaving the EU had been negative for the country overall.

The poll also suggests that the UK could vote differently were another referendum to be held on rejoining the EU.

55% of those surveyed said that they would vote to rejoin the European Union on similar terms to which the UK left, compared to 45% who said that they would not.

The internationalist campaign group Best for Britain told Byline Times that the poll showed the public had not been “fooled” by the Government’s claims about Brexit and the cost of living.

“While the Chancellor pretends to play Robin Hood, this polling shows voters are not fooled”, Best for Britain chief executive Naomi Smith told Byline Times. “They know Brexit has increased costs for businesses and now, that’s being felt by consumers already badly squeezed by the cost of living crisis.”

Omnisis is a member of the British Polling Council and polled a representative group of 1,026 British adults on 25 May 2022. The full tables and methodology can be found here.