On the fifth anniversary of the historic Brexit referendum, the Bertelsmann Stiftung has released exclusive data tracking public opinion in the UK and EU over the past ten years. Contrary to fears of a wider EU fragmentation and a permanent divide between British and European citizens, the findings reveal a shared preference for pragmatic cooperation.
The data, published on Monday, June 22, 2026, shows that the populist promise of a better future outside the EU has not been fulfilled. In fact, optimism among Britons about their personal outlook and economic situation has significantly declined since the referendum in 2016. Only 41% of Britons now feel positive about their future, a decrease of 27 percentage points, and only 23% say their economic situation has improved in the last two years, down 21 percentage points.
Despite the narrow result of the 2016 Brexit referendum, a stable majority of over 50% of Britons have consistently expressed a desire to remain in the EU over the past ten years. The most recent figures from March 2026 show that 57% of Britons would vote to remain in the EU if another referendum were held.
These findings also dispel concerns that Brexit would trigger other member states to leave the EU. By March 2026, only 21% of Britons and 18% of EU citizens believed that other countries would follow the UK’s example and leave the Union, a significant decrease from the levels recorded in 2018.
Furthermore, the data suggests that Brexit has not created a lasting divide between British and European public opinion. In fact, a decade later, attitudes and concerns are remarkably similar among citizens on both sides. Support for a stronger EU role in world affairs stands at 66% in the UK and 71% across the EU, and around half of respondents on both sides view the EU positively. Additionally, levels of satisfaction with EU democracy and perceptions of the EU’s direction are almost identical.
Jake Benford, the Bertelsmann Stiftung’s UK expert, notes that the public has moved on from Brexit faster than politics. He argues, “Citizens increasingly recognize that European fragmentation comes at a cost: less security, less resilience, and less influence in the world. The question is whether politicians can move beyond the divisions of the past and respond to this growing public pragmatism.”
Florian Kommer, the Bertelsmann Stiftung’s Europe expert, adds, “In 2016, many believed that the Brexit referendum marked the beginning of the end for the European Union. However, a decade later, the picture looks very different. Our findings suggest that the space for EU-UK cooperation may be wider today than is often assumed.”
The full dataset is available on the Bertelsmann Stiftung’s website at www.eupinions.eu. For further inquiries, please contact Jake Benford at +49 173 7306478 or jake.benford@bertelsmann-stiftung.de.
