Does Britain regret Brexit? Crisis and confusion leaves country even more divided

British Prime Minister Theresa May, left, is greeted by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker at EU headquarters in Brussels. Photo / AP

Britons voted to leave the European Union in June 2016. A year and a half later, the country is still trying to work out how that will actually work - indeed, it's still not clear yet what Brexit actually means in practice.

So do Britons regret Brexit? Or have they doubled down on their intentions in the months since the vote? Do they just want it to be over?

The answer to each of these questions is simple: Yes.

Roughly speaking, Britain's attitude to Brexit as it prepares to leave the EU can be broken down into four segments of society.

And when you look at these four segments of society and the way they often contradict, you can see not only why British Prime Minister Theresa May is having such a hard time finding a deal that will please all parts of society - and why even a second referendum might prove difficult too.

From the early days after the referendum, the idea that some of those who voted for Brexit now regretted their vote was a familiar one.

There were stories about a post-Brexit rush to Google "What is the EU?" and some major anti-EU voices like millionaire Brexit-backer Arron Banks have said they would go back and change their vote if they could.

Finding evidence of this "Bregret" sentiment in polls is a little complicated, but some claim to do so. In the original referendum, roughly 52 per cent voted in favour of leaving the EU, while 48 per cent wanted to remain. One poll released a few months ago by research bodies NatCen and UK in a Changing Europe found that 59 per cent of voters now wanted to remain in the bloc, compared to 41 per cent who did not.

In many cases, this may not be frustration with the idea of Brexit itself, but the way it has been carried out by May's Government. Banks' own Bregret may also come from the resulting investigations into his role in the referendum.

But there is also a sense that, in the short term at least, Brexit has made people's lives worse: A recent IPSOS/Mori poll found that 41 per cent of the country thought the vote had decreased their own standard of living, compared to 18 per cent who thought it had got better.

My mentions have taught me that Brexit is like Trump’s wall. For its devoted fans it has a symbolic value totally unrelated to its workability, its true cost or the glaring self-interest of its proposers, whereas non-believers see nothing but a deranged and costly vanity project.

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) December 11, 2018

The flip side to the idea of Bregret is the pro-leave voter who has not changed their mind about the EU - in fact, they've doubled down. Some even favour a "no deal" Brexit than a soft Brexit.

We'll dub this person the Brexit diehard.

You see this type of person in the British media often: people like the Conservative MP Jacob Rees Mogg or the former Independence Party leader Nigel Farage. The hardliners might be the people who have led protests against May's deal to leave the EU, arguing that she has taken too soft a stance in negotiations with Brussels. At one "Brexit betrayal" march this weekend, a protester carried a noose that he said was for the Prime Minister.

Despite the obviously chaotic nature of British politics since the 2016 referendum, there appear to be many Brexit supporters who still believe it was the right choice in the long-term. IPSOS/Mori's polling shows that while 55 per cent of the country think leaving the EU will be bad for the British economy in the next five years, only 34 per cent say the same of the next 10 to 20 years - and 45 per cent say it will be a good thing.

Although Britain voted to leave the EU it did so by only a slim majority. Many in the country feel strongly attached to their identity as a part of Europe. Indeed, since June 2016 there have been a number of anti-Brexit marches in London, some drawing crowds of hundreds of thousands of people.

UK, YouGov poll:

European Union membership referendum

Scenario: Remain vs. No Deal

Remain: 57% (+5)
Leave: 43% (-5)

+/- November 2018

Fieldwork: 6-7 December 2018
Sample: N/A#Brexit #BrexitVote

— Europe Elects (@EuropeElects) December 10, 2018

UK, YouGov poll:

European Union membership referendum

Scenario: Remain vs. May Deal vs No Deal

Remain: 54% (+8)
Leave without deal: 28% (+1)
Leave with May deal: 18% (-9)

+/- November 2018

Fieldwork: 6-7 December 2018
Sample: N/A#Brexit

— Europe Elects (@EuropeElects) December 10, 2018

UK, YouGov poll:

European Union membership referendum

Scenario: Remain vs. May Deal

Remain: 62% (+12)
Leave: 38% (-12)

(24% undecided not included)

Fieldwork: 6-7 December 2018
Sample: N/A#Brexit #BrexitVote

— Europe Elects (@EuropeElects) December 10, 2018

Some of these Europhile-leaning Brits have argued that the 2016 vote was unfairly influenced by dark money or Russian misinformation. Others now say they want to leave Britain themselves, as they don't like what it's turning into. But probably the idea that holds the most sway across this crowd is that there should be a second referendum on Britain's deal to leave the EU

The idea of a "People's Vote" on Brexit now that more details of the process are out has met with real criticism from many politicians, who argue it would only further churn the already muddy waters and inevitably lead to calls for a third referendum.

But some politicians, such as Vince Cable of the Liberal Democrats, have voiced support. Polls suggest considerable support for such a measure, and some surveys even show a small percentage in favour of another vote.

On the day parliament was supposed to vote on her deal to leave the EU, here Theresa May gives her reasons for remaining in the European Union shortly before the 2016 referendum. pic.twitter.com/feidX9lf3U

— Ed Fraser (@frasereC4) December 11, 2018

For other Brits, the overwhelming reaction to Brexit is simple: Please can we get this over with?

After months and months of seemingly never-ending negotiations over complicated details like a "backstop" for the Irish border - some polls show that a majority of the country still aren't confident about what this is - and with no clear consensus in sight, these people believe that it's best to just pull off the bandage and get on with life. However bad Brexit is, they reason, it can't be worse than this.

One poll conducted by Deltapoll over the summer suggested that 60 per cent of the country agreed with the statement: "I no longer care how or when we leave the EU, I just want it over and done with". Notably, many were in favour of staying in the EU in 2016.

This sort of sentiment may ultimately be May's saviour.

In Ipsos Mori's most recent poll, less than a quarter of the respondents felt that the British Prime Minister could get a good deal with the EU However, half of the country said she shouldn't resign if Parliament rejects her deal - a sign that for many, political chaos is more worrying than a bad Brexit.

UK: FT reports, when 52% of voters decided to leave the EU in 2016, the topic "Common Market/EU/Euro/Brexit/Europe" was barely named as important issue. Immigration was important. This has been reversed over the course of the Brexit negotiation (Ipsos Mori polls). #Brexit pic.twitter.com/snGEJCRPtn

— Europe Elects (@EuropeElects) December 11, 2018

'Stop #Brexit!': One man's daily protest against UK-EU divorce https://t.co/ibSXL77mU4 via @ ReutersTV pic.twitter.com/tgWiZOnPv5

— Reuters (@Reuters) December 11, 2018

Theresa May's delay of the Brexit vote is a blow that Britain's already fragile economy could've done without https://t.co/zfN8wVOP5c pic.twitter.com/xXzr1SxukN

— Bloomberg Brexit (@Brexit) December 11, 2018