BRUSSELS, (Unib Rashid) — Support for Britain rejoining the European Union has risen to 61 percent, according to polling cited by British media, suggesting a significant shift in public opinion since the 2016 Brexit referendum.

The latest figures indicate that if a referendum on EU membership were held today, around 61 percent of Britons would vote in favour of rejoining the European Union, while 39 percent would prefer the country to remain outside the bloc.

According to a report published by a British newspaper, polling expert John Curtice said support for rejoining the European Union has reached its highest sustained level since the 2016 referendum.

Curtice said an average of 61 percent of voters would now support Britain rejoining the EU, compared with 39 percent who would vote to remain outside the bloc.

The polling expert described the change in public opinion as “significant” and said he believed the trend could continue.

The figures point to a notable change in attitudes towards Brexit, which saw Britain vote to leave the European Union in the 2016 referendum. The United Kingdom formally left the EU in January 2020, ending decades of membership of the bloc.

The latest polling does not itself indicate that a new referendum is imminent, but it highlights the changing public mood surrounding Britain’s relationship with the European Union.

The findings come amid continuing debate in Britain over the economic, political and social consequences of Brexit and the country’s future relationship with the EU.

While support for rejoining the bloc has increased, the issue remains politically sensitive, with Britain’s major political parties maintaining different positions on the country’s relationship with the European Union.

The latest figures nevertheless suggest that the balance of public opinion on EU membership has shifted considerably since the 2016 referendum, when a majority of British voters chose to leave the bloc.