Seven years after the Brexit referendum, the proportion of Britons who want to rejoin the EU has climbed to its highest levels since 2016, according to a new survey.

Both Britons and Europeans also think the UK’s return to the EU is becoming more likely, while British respondents are more optimistic about the bloc’s future – to the extent of trusting the European Commission more than their own government.

Data from YouGov’s latest Brexit tracker survey found that, excluding those who said they would not vote or did not know, 58.2% of people in Britain would now vote to rejoin.

The percentage is only fractionally down on the 60% recorded in February this year – the highest figure since comparable data began in February 2012 – and has risen more or less consistently since a post-referendum low of 47% in early 2021.