Potential re-accession of the United Kingdom to the European Union

Following a 2016 referendum, the United Kingdom withdrew from the European Union at the end of January 2020. Since leaving the EU, numerous polling organisations have conducted surveys to gauge public opinion on rejoining the organisation. The trend of the poll data shows that, over time, support for Brexit has waned, while public opinion in the UK has gradually moved in favour of rejoining the EU (totally or partially, such as joining the European single market).

History A referendum on the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union took place in 2016, following the European Union Referendum Act being approved by parliament the previous year. Most political parties, including the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats, supported remaining in the European Union while the governing Conservative Party remained neutral, with the prime minister, David Cameron, supporting the UK remaining in the European Union. A majority of voters supported the UK leaving the European Union, with 51.9% voting in favour of leaving and 48.1% in favour of remaining. Cameron resigned, and was succeeded by Theresa May, and later Boris Johnson, both of whom negotiated the terms of the UK's departure. The UK's departure from the European Union led to two early general elections in 2017 and 2019, and dominated British politics until 31 January 2020, when the country's membership of the European Union ended.

In September 2023, thousands of people participated in a march in London campaigning for the United Kingdom to rejoin the EU. Also in September 2023, France and Germany proposed a restructuring of the membership of the EU to allow the UK to rejoin as an associate member, rather than a full member. Associate membership would include membership of the European single market but not the EU customs union, in exchange for participation in the European Court of Justice and making contributions to the EU budget. The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, expressed her support for the UK eventually rejoining the EU. In September 2023 Keir Starmer, former leader of the Labour Party and former prime minister, ruled out the possibility of the UK rejoining the EU under a Starmer-led Labour government. The current prime minister, Andy Burnham, while campaigning for the 2026 Makerfield by-election and the 2026 Labour leadership election stated in an interview to ITV, that while "in the long term there is a case for that", he wants to focus on domestic issues first. He went further in September 2026 saying that rejoining the EU is an option for the UK. He did not rule out including it in the Labour Party's next general election manifesto.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cmlyewr0lnj3o

Process

Potential enlargement of the European Union is governed by Article 49 of the Maastricht Treaty. If the UK applied to rejoin the EU, it would need to apply and have its application terms supported unanimously by the EU member states. In January 2020, the political scientist Anthony Salamone wrote that member state support would seek "significant, stable and long-lasting majority public opinion in favour of rejoining", suggesting sustained 60% support would be a plausible minimum. New negotiated terms may also require the UK's participation in the Eurozone and Schengen Area, as well as offering fewer concessions than the UK previously received as a member. Any concessions sought when joining would need unanimous support from member states and a majority in the European Parliament.

Political positions

Some UK political parties have policy proposals for the United Kingdom, or its member countries, to rejoin the European Union in the future, while others have ruled out supporting it. Here is a table showing the parties of the UK and their opinion on rejoining the EU. The Prime Minister of the UK has given hints on rejoining the EU. Political party PositionConservative Party Stay outGreen Party of England and Wales RejoinLabour Party RejoinLiberal Democrats Rejoin Plaid Cymru RejoinReform UK Stay outScottish Greens RejoinScottish National Party (SNP) Rejoin

An All-Party Parliamentary Group on Europe was set up in October 2024, with the aim of promoting closer ties with the EU. Its secretariat services are provided by the European Movement UK.

Opinion polling

Graphical summary The chart below shows the results of opinion polls on whether the United Kingdom should rejoin the European Union or stay out of it conducted since it left in January 2020. The trend lines are local regressions (LOESS), with the blue line showing support for rejoining the EU, the red line showing support for staying out and the grey one showing support for neither of these two options. Support for rejoining the EU overtook support for staying out in the summer of 2021 and the gap has continued to widen since. Polling in 2026 suggests that, on average, more than half the population support rejoining and about a third support staying out, with the rest saying "neither" or "don't know".

National polls Polling of British voters on whether the United Kingdom should rejoin the European Union. Polling includes only those that explicitly ask how the responder would vote in a hypothetical referendum on the United Kingdom rejoining the European Union, rather than repeating the remain/leave question of the 2016 referendum. 2026

DatesconductedPollsterClientSamplesizeRejoinStay outNeitherLeadYouGovN/A2,06259%32%10%27%YouGovN/A2,08153%29%18%24%YouGovThe Times2,11455%34%10%21%SurvationN/A10,02455%32%15%23%Lord AshcroftN/A5,26353%30%17%23%YouGovN/A4,06756%35%9%21%IpsosN/A1,13752%33%15%19%BMG ResearchThe i1,52148%35%15%13%YouGovN/A2,10455%33%12%22%BMG ResearchThe i1,50748%34%18%14%YouGovN/A2,10253%28%19%25%BMG ResearchThe i1,50345%37%18%8%YouGovN/A2,08055%34%11%21%YouGovN/A2,01252%29%19%23%BMG ResearchThe i1,51344%35%21%9%YouGovN/A2,04354%34%12%20%YouGovN/A2,04649%31%20%18%

2025

DatesconductedPollsterClientSamplesizeRejoinStay outNeitherLeadDeltapollThe Mirror1,99747%34%19%13%YouGovN/A2,06350%31%19%19%BMG ResearchThe i1,54843%39%17%4%YouGovN/A2,13850%30%20%20%YouGovEurotrack2,16750%31%20%19%YouGovBest for Britain4,36853%32%14%21%YouGovEurotrack2,24549%30%20%19%BMG ResearchThe i1,50443%38%19%5%YouGovEurotrack2,19249%30%20%19%BMG ResearchThe i1,52843%37%21%6%YouGovEurotrack2,00651%30%18%21%YouGovN/A2,00554%32%13%22%BMG ResearchThe i1,61742%38%19%4%YouGovEurotrack2,02955%34%11%21%YouGovN/A2,23956%34%10%22%BMG ResearchThe i1,51044%38%17%6%YouGovN/A2,21253%35%12%18%YouGovEurotrack2,22749%32%19%17%BMG ResearchThe i1,52541%40%18%1%YouGovEurotrack2,00149%32%19%17%BMG ResearchThe i1,54445%38%17%7%YouGovN/A2,08153%36%11%17%DeltapollN/A1,97449%35%15%14%YouGovEurotrack2,15549%31%21%18%BMG ResearchThe i1,58645%40%15%5%YouGovEurotrack2,11748%32%19%16%BMG ResearchThe i1,51445%37%18%8%YouGovN/A2,22551%31%19%20%YouGovEurotrack2,28348%33%20%15%DeltapollMail on Sunday1,53248%36%16%12%

2024

DatesconductedPollsterClientSamplesizeRejoinStay outNeitherLeadDeltapollThe Mirror1,55245%38%16%7%YouGovEurotrack2,11945%32%23%13%BMG ResearchThe i1,53144%40%17%4%DeltapollN/A1,74948%35%17%13%BMG ResearchThe i1,51144%38%19%6%YouGovEurotrack2,09847%31%22%16%DeltapollN/A2,10847%38%15%9%BMG ResearchThe i1,56243%39%17%4%YouGovEurotrack2,21248%30%22%18%BMG ResearchThe i1,56046%37%17%9%Redfield & Wilton StrategiesUK in a Changing Europe2,00051%40%8%11%YouGovEurotrack2,18946%33%20%13%OmnisisN/A1,27843%32%25%11%BMG ResearchThe i1,52344%37%19%7%OmnisisN/A2,01239%33%28%6%YouGovN/A2,03248%33%19%15%YouGovEurotrack2,07449%32%18%17%OmnisisN/A2,00540%35%25%5%OmnisisN/A1,32547%35%18%12%DeltapollN/A1,73749%38%14%11%BMG ResearchThe i1,85446%37%18%9%DeltapollThe Mail on Sunday1,64547%39%13%8%OmnisisN/A1,21047%34%19%13%DeltapollThe National2,07746%37%16%9%BMG ResearchThe i1,52247%38%14%9%DeltapollN/A1,56850%35%16%15%OmnisisN/A1,27050%31%18%19%BMG ResearchThe i1,62747%38%15%9%DeltapollN/A1,38345%41%13%4%YouGovEurotrack2,29248%33%19%15%Redfield & Wilton StrategiesUK in a Changing Europe2,00055%35%10%20%OmnisisN/A1,29749%33%18%16%BMG ResearchThe i1,54647%39%15%8%DeltapollMail on Sunday2,01050%35%15%15%OmnisisN/A1,19850%31%19%19%BMG ResearchThe i1,53445%38%17%7%DeltapollN/A1,07751%34%15%17%VerianN/A1,40556%28%17%28%OmnisisN/A1,32847%34%19%13%BMG ResearchThe i1,50044%41%15%3%DeltapollMail on Sunday1,51751%35%13%16%OmnisisN/A1,24248%31%21%17%DeltapollN/A1,96849%36%16%13%OmnisisN/A1,06449%31%20%18%DeltapollN/A1,03145%36%19%9%OmnisisN/A1,18348%32%20%16%DeltapollN/A1,99348%38%15%10%JL PartnersThe Rest is Politics2,00147%36%16%11%OmnisisN/A1,17746%33%21%13%DeltapollN/A1,57747%36%17%11%OmnisisN/A1,26548%31%21%17%BMG ResearchThe i1,50047%39%14%8%DeltapollN/A1,52549%35%16%14%OmnisisN/A1,26648%33%19%15%YouGovEurotrack2,14749%32%20%17%Redfield & Wilton StrategiesUK in a Changing Europe2,00055%38%8%17%DeltapollN/A1,94451%35%14%16%OmnisisN/A1,27150%31%19%19%JL PartnersThe Rest is Politics2,01148%36%15%12%OmnisisN/A1,28049%32%19%17%BMG ResearchThe i1,53046%40%14%6%OmnisisN/A1,28548%32%20%16%DeltapollN/A1,58947%37%16%10%OmnisisN/A1,27048%32%19%16%DeltapollN/A2,07249%36%16%13%OmnisisN/A1,27049%34%17%15%YouGovEurotrack2,04749%30%21%19%DeltapollN/A1,50247%40%14%7%OmnisisN/A1,21646%34%20%12%BMG ResearchThe i1,54145%41%14%4%DeltapollN/A1,50046%39%15%7%OmnisisN/A1,24050%33%17%17%DeltapollN/A1,49049%36%15%13%OmnisisN/A1,24350%31%19%19%DeltapollN/A1,51945%38%16%7%OmnisisN/A1,24647%33%20%14%YouGovEurotrack2,18647%32%21%15%Redfield & Wilton StrategiesUK in a Changing Europe2,00055%36%8%19%DeltapollN/A1,97746%39%15%7%OmnisisN/A1,17150%31%19%19%DeltapollN/A2,00447%37%15%10%OmnisisN/A1,28352%31%18%21%BMG ResearchThe i1,50546%41%13%5%DeltapollN/A2,06447%38%14%9%OmnisisN/A1,26450%33%18%17%DeltapollN/A2,17647%37%16%10%OmnisisN/A1,16350%31%19%19%DeltapollN/A2,13646%38%15%8%OmnisisN/A1,16150%33%17%17%YouGovEurotrack2,05847%31%22%16%OmnisisN/A1,22648%32%20%16%YouGovN/A2,01651%36%13%15%

2023