The NatCen Blog

Here we’ll be talking about our research in the context of the latest news, opinion and
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Posted on 22 September 2022 by Sir John Curtice, Senior Research Fellow

Could ‘Culture Wars’ Rekindle the Brexit Divide?

It is often asserted that Brexit has fallen off voters’ agenda. Remain voters, it is said, have accommodated themselves to the fact that we have left the EU, while the issue has lost its importance for Leave voters. The validity of the first of those statements is doubtful – as our post-Brexit poll of polls indicates...
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Tags: BSA, Brexit, Culture wars, political attitudes, social attitudes
Posted on 22 June 2021 by Sir John Curtice, Senior Research Fellow

Five Years On: Has Brexit Been A Success?

Five years ago this week, the UK voted by 52% to 48% to leave the European Union. After two general elections and an extended parliamentary stalemate, that decision was eventually implemented on January 31 2020, though it then took another eleven months before the UK left the EU single market and Customs Union. This is therefore an appropriate moment to ask whether the public consider the Brexit process to have been a success or not.
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Tags: Brexit
Posted on 03 November 2020 by Sir John Curtice, Senior Research Fellow ScotCen

Is Brexit fuelling support for independence?

The rise in support for independence is now well established in the polls. The trend first became apparent last year, when the level of support for Yes increased from around the 45% mark at which it had appeared to be stuck ever since the 2014 independence referendum to an average of 49%. This figure then edged up a little further to 50% by the end of January this year, when the UK formally left the European Union.
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Tags: Brexit, Scottish Social Attitudes, Scottish independence, What Scotland Thinks, political attitudes
Posted on 08 October 2020 by Sir John Curtice, Senior Research Fellow ScotCen

The Legacy and Future of Brexit

Today sees the publication of two chapters on Brexit as part of the latest British Social Attitudes report. One examines the legacy of Brexit, that is, the impact that the process of leaving has had on our attitudes towards how we are governed. The other looks at what people hope Brexit will bring in future, that is, what they think the UK government should do with the new powers and responsibilities that it will acquire at the end of the transition period in December.
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Tags: BSA 37, Brexit, British Social Attitudes, political attitudes, public trust
Posted on 16 October 2018 by Sir John Curtice, Senior Research Fellow

‘Perhaps It’ll All be OK in the End?’ The Contrast in Perceptions of the Short-Term and Long-Term Economic Consequences of Brexit

One of the persistent findings of the polling on attitudes towards Brexit – both before and since the referendum itself – has been that voters are more likely to think that Brexit will be bad for Britain’s economy than anticipate that it will be beneficial. However, there has also been some evidence that voters’ views on the economic consequences of Brexit depend on the time frame that they are invited to consider.
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Tags: Brexit, EU, EU Referendum, European Union, economy
Posted on 24 April 2018 by Nancy Kelley, Deputy Chief Executive

Does Britain want to stay in the EU customs union?

The parliamentary passage of the Brexit bill remains stormy with Monday’s Lords vote in favour of an amendment to keep the UK in the EU customs union. The Commons get their chance to vote on this critical amendment on Thursday.
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Tags: Brexit, customs union, economy, free trade, politics
Posted on 08 December 2017 by Alina Carabat, Statistician

Live Together, Vote Together?

New analysis of the Understanding Society survey compares within-household voting in the EU Referendum and in the 2015 General Election.
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Tags: Brexit, Understanding Society
Posted on 01 October 2017 by Sir John Curtice, Senior Research Fellow

Why did Brexit not work for the Conservatives?

Conservative activists gather in Manchester today with one question above all on their mind, ‘What went wrong in June?’
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Tags: Brexit, NatCen on the Election, elections, general election
Posted on 06 March 2017 by Guy Goodwin, Chief Executive

Unanswered Questions on Migration - Can we balance public opinion and the needs of the economy?

Guy Goodwin, NatCen's Chief Executive, explores the delicate balance of public opinion around immigration and Britain's economic needs.
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Tags: Brexit, EU, immigration
Posted on 16 November 2016 by Sir John Curtice, Senior Research Fellow

What Do Voters want from Brexit?

Given how contentious the debate about the desirable shape of Brexit is proving to be, it is perhaps surprising that there has not been more polling than we have seen so far on what voters would like to emerge from the negotiations between the UK and the EU.
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Tags: Brexit, EU Referendum, European elections, immigration