EU ten points more popular in the UK today than it was in 2016

Support for the European Union in the UK has rocketed by ten percentage points since the vote to leave in 2016.

Think tank Pew Research Center revealed that 54 per cent of Brits currently hold a favourable opinion of the union, compared to 44 per cent three years ago.

The results are consistent with a general uptick in positive sentiment across the board, with those in Greece, Germany and Spain all recording a noticeable improvement in favourable attitudes.

One-week crapshoot

Last month a Daily Telegraph article from 2016 resurfaced which appeared to prove that the British public were indifferent towards the EU and a referendum at the start of that year.

Analysis from Europe Editor Peter Foster showed how, despite speculation over David Cameron’s deal with the EU, the referendum looked to be a “one-week crapshoot”.

It noted:

“Using Google trends as a gauge of public interest-levels in the referendum, the answer is clear: at this point in the game, the vast majority of the electorate couldn’t care less.”

More interest in Strictly Come Dancing

Looking it two charts, it shows while there was a spike in interest from 2015 that had largely petered out by the start of the next year.

What’s more, set against the Premier League, or Strictly Come Dancing, the relative interest in the EU referendum is so minimal it all but disappears from view.

Travel expert Mark Smith re-circulated the article today, saying it is “proof – from the Telegraph of all places – that back in 2016 brexit & EU in or out was a Conservative party internal squabble of little concern to the people of this country.

Jack Peat

Jack is a business and economics journalist and the founder of The London Economic (TLE). He has contributed articles to VICE, Huffington Post and Independent and is a published author. Jack read History at the University of Wales, Bangor and has a Masters in Journalism from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.