Half of UK Voters Back Rejoining EU, Megapoll Finds

Almost half of voters in the United Kingdom support rejoining the European Union, according to a major new poll conducted by The Messina Group between 12 and 24 September 2026, as Prime Minister Andy Burnham faces growing pressure to define Labour’s long-term approach to Britain’s relationship with Europe.

The poll of 11,461 people found that 49% supported the UK rejoining the EU, compared with 28.5% opposed. The findings come days after Burnham used his first Labour conference speech as party leader to announce a review of Britain’s future relationship with Europe and subsequently confirmed that the review would include the possibility of full EU membership.

The research also found that Labour’s vote share could increase in several scenarios involving closer ties with the EU, although the political implications remain contested within the government, particularly among ministers representing constituencies that voted to leave the bloc in the 2016 referendum.

Rejoining the EU was the most supported of seven options tested by The Messina Group. Maintaining the current relationship while reducing trade barriers received support from 48.2% of respondents, while 47.1% backed membership of a customs union.

Support for joining the European single market stood at 45.1%, while 45.5% supported associate membership. Maintaining the existing relationship without significant changes attracted 42% support.

The least popular option tested was moving further away from the EU, which received support from 27.9% of respondents, while 41.2% opposed it.

On timing, 25.9% said Britain should rejoin the EU immediately. A further 22.9% favoured rejoining within three years, while 8.4% supported doing so within the next decade. Around 23% said they did not want the UK to establish a closer relationship with the EU.

The findings indicate that public attitudes towards Britain’s relationship with Europe have shifted since the 2016 referendum, although the poll also shows that questions surrounding immigration and national sovereignty continue to influence voters.

The same research found that 52.4% of respondents believed the UK had been wrong to leave the EU, compared with 29.7% who said leaving had been the right decision. Another 17.9% were undecided.

Asked whether Brexit had been a success or failure, 54.9% described it as a failure, while 12.2% considered it a success. Some 23.2% said it was neither, and 9.7% said they did not know.

The figures provide an indication of how attitudes have changed, but they do not remove the political divisions created by the referendum. Immigration controls and national sovereignty remain issues that continue to resonate with a significant section of the electorate.

The poll comes as the Burnham government considers how far it should take its plans for a closer relationship with the EU.

Burnham has said he wants Britain to examine its future relationship with Europe and has previously stated that he would like to see the UK return to the EU during his lifetime. His decision to include rejoining in the government’s review has nevertheless prompted caution among some Labour MPs and ministers.

Several senior Labour figures have argued that closer cooperation on defence, security and trade could be beneficial while warning against reopening divisions associated with the 2016 referendum.

Deputy Labour leader Lucy Powell has said that improvements to Britain’s defence and security relationship with Europe were possible, but argued that moving beyond the existing EU reset programme was not desirable. Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has raised concerns about constitutional questions creating uncertainty for businesses, while Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has said that rejoining the EU would not be a simple process and could involve significant costs.

Daily Dazzling Dawn understands that ministers representing constituencies that supported Brexit are particularly conscious of the political sensitivity surrounding any future discussion about EU membership.

The Messina Group also tested how different messages about Britain’s relationship with Europe could affect Labour’s support at a general election.

Its research indicated increases in Labour’s vote share of between 4.3 and 7.4 percentage points across scenarios involving closer ties with the EU. The pollster said much of the additional support came from voters who otherwise backed the Green Party and Liberal Democrats.

However, these findings measure responses to hypothetical political messages rather than an actual election result. They should therefore be read as evidence of how respondents reacted to specific scenarios at the time the survey was conducted, rather than as a prediction of future voting behaviour.

The research also found that more than two-thirds of respondents considered trade with the EU more important than trade with either the United States or China if Britain were forced to choose between them. Four in five respondents supported retaining the pound, while 53.4% backed remaining within the European Convention on Human Rights, compared with 24.2% opposed.

The findings are expected to attract attention in Downing Street as ministers assess whether Labour should commit at the next general election to negotiating a substantially closer relationship with the EU.

Supporters of the approach argue that Britain’s economic, security and diplomatic interests require a long-term settlement with its European neighbours. Others within Labour remain concerned that reopening the question of EU membership could revive political divisions and provide an opportunity for Reform UK leader Nigel Farage to regain momentum.

Farage has already criticised Burnham’s decision to discuss rejoining the EU, saying it had provided a significant political boost to his movement.

The question of Britain’s future relationship with Europe is therefore likely to remain a major issue as Labour develops its policy position. The new polling provides evidence of substantial public support for closer ties, but it also demonstrates that Brexit-related questions of sovereignty, immigration, constitutional arrangements and the terms of any potential future agreement remain politically significant.