A similar piece of research, carried out by YouGov among 1,664 UK adults on behalf of insurer Royal London, found pessimism among investors had started to diminish after the December 12 general election brought more political certainty.
The research showed the proportion of Brits who think their finances will improve after Brexit rose by 5 percentage points in the last quarter, from 6 per cent in August 2019 to 11 per cent of the population in the days following the general election, the highest level of optimism since December 2018.
Conversely, the level of pessimism about the impact of Brexit on personal finances declined slightly in the last quarter, from 36 per cent of people who believe their finances will worsen after Brexit in September, down to 34 per cent in December 2019, according to the survey by YouGov on behalf of Royal London, the mutual insurer. There are now three pessimists for every optimist, compared with six pessimists for every optimist in summer last year.
However, the most commonly held view, shared by nearly two in five (39 per cent) Brits, continues to be that household finances will remain the same. This proportion has remained largely consistent since the quarterly Brexit and personal finances survey began just over a year ago.
Becky O’Connor, personal finance specialist at Royal London, said: “Most Brits continue to think Brexit will not have much impact on their personal finances. Despite a near doubling in the proportion of the population who are optimistic, there remains significantly more pessimism than optimism overall.
“The only thing that can end this ongoing uncertainty about the impact of Brexit on the nation’s fortunes, as well as the stark divisions in expectations, is Brexit itself.”
simoney.kyriakou@ft.com
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