Credit: PA
Over twice as many respondents who did not vote in the 2016 referendum would now vote remain, accounting for 43 per cent of the group, a new poll has found.
Meanwhile, only 18 per cent of those who did not cast their vote would vote to leave the European Union.
It comes as Electoral Commission figures from five years ago show 28 per cent of UK’s voters did not turn out to cast their vote – that is about 13 million people.
Among those, the highest number of people who did not show up are young voters – with 36 per cent of those aged 18 to 25 not voting, compared to only 10 per cent of those over 65 not voting.
The new findings add to previous concerns that young people who did not have the right to vote in the 2016 referendum will live the most to experience the consequences of the Brexit vote.
In addition, EU citizens in the UK were also not allowed to vote over their future at the time as well as hundreds of thousands of British citizens who have left Britain more than 15 years before the referendum.
The new survey also found leavers are more likely than remainers to think the Tory government will prioritise the country’s needs over its own party’s interests.
“Getting Brexit done” made Brexiteers feel better about how they are governed, amounting the highest public trust in government in over a decade.
But remainers are as disappointed and untrusting as ever, and the British society remains as polarised as ever, according to the British social attitudes survey.
The survey, as reported by The Guardian, found trust in the government previously dropped from 47 per cent in 1987 to 15 per cent in 2019, but went up to 23 per cent last year.
However, the increase in confidence was mainly registered because of Leave voters, with 31 per cent showing trust in the government compared to 12 per cent in 2019.
By contrast, 14 per cent trusted the government in 2019, and the figure rose to 17 per cent in 2020.
The poll also found that UK people’s concern over inequality is at its highest level since 1998, with a sharp increase last year in 18 to 44-year-olds believing the country favours the wealthy and raising hopes of a more egalitarian future.
The survey comes after last week it was revealed most Brits don’t think their personal finances will be better as a result of Brexit – and an overwhelming percentage of Leavers also agreed on the matter, according to a Savanta ComRes poll for The Independent.
Findings also showed no region, social class or age group thinks Brexit would benefit them financially – with only 22 per cent of the total amount of Leave voters thinking they will have personal gains from exiting the EU.
And over a third of voters said they think their personal finances will suffer because of Brexit.
Findings suggest voters think Boris Johnson should prioritise “levelling up”, but only 28 per cent believe he is honest in claiming to work towards achieving equality among UK’s different areas.
The strongest scepticism came from the North and the Midlands – areas the prime minister vowed to help.
The survey also found that more than 56 per cent of voters think their lives will be worse because of rising costs of food, energy and housing – and many are also worried about Brexit and recent Tory changes to tax rates.
Fears over living costs were strongest among the elderly, with 73 per cent of over 65s concerned about their finances.
Related: Law professor warns UK of ‘serious suffering’ from Johnson’s hard Brexit
