Three in five gen Z Britons would like new vote to rejoin EU, poll finds

Demonstrators in favour of rejoining the EU in London this month. Hostility toward the UK’s exit from the EU is strongest among the youngest adults. Photograph: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Demonstrators in favour of rejoining the EU in London this month. Hostility toward the UK’s exit from the EU is strongest among the youngest adults. Photograph: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing/Getty Images Three in five gen Z Britons would like new vote to rejoin EU, poll finds Exclusive: Data reveals 60% of 18 to 28-year-olds would vote to rejoin bloc if given the opportunity A generation of young Britons who were locked out of the 2016 EU referendum because of their age now believe that Brexit has failed, with a majority demanding a fresh vote to rejoin the EU, exclusive polling shows. Gen Z Britons show deep dissatisfaction with the UK’s departure from the EU, according to new polling of 18- to 28-year-olds conducted by the thinktank More in Common and shared with the Guardian. The data reveals that 60% of this cohort would vote to rejoin the bloc if given the opportunity, compared with 9% who would vote to stay out. When filtering the results to focus solely on those likely to cast a ballot in a hypothetical second referendum, the margin becomes a landslide, with the pro-EU Remain/Rejoin camp capturing 81% of the vote against just 19% for remaining outside. The More in Common study, which surveyed 440 young people across Britain, shows that 50% of gen Z Britons categorise Brexit as a failure. In contrast, only 16% view the project as a success, while 34% remain undecided. Luke Tryl, the executive director of More In Common, said: “For many gen Z Britons, the Brexit referendum was formative to their political ‘coming of age’. In focus groups, many in this age group say Brexit was the first political event they were vividly aware of – too young to vote, but with distinct memories of that campaign and the years of debate that followed. “Ten years on, our polling of Britons aged 18 to 28 reveals how they feel about Brexit: they tend to believe it has failed, and three in five want a fresh referendum on rejoining. But interestingly, few think the principle of Brexit was doomed from the start – like the rest of the public, they tend to say it could have worked well, but that politicians ruined it. “And while young Britons mostly support rejoining in principle, focus group conversations with gen Z voters suggest they’re hesitant about a return to the endless Brexit debates they remember from their youth, which risks distracting from the issues they care most about – the cost of living, affordable housing, jobs and climate change.” Hostility toward the UK’s exit from the EU is strongest among the youngest adults. Among those aged 18 to 21 – who were children aged six to nine in 2016 – 53% declare Brexit a failure, while only 12% see it as a success. This sentiment softens slightly among older gen Zers aged 25 to 2