Observation
Australian views of the United Kingdom may have been affected by Brexit, and the adverse coverage of the protracted Brexit negotiations.
Seven in ten Australians (70%) say that the United Kingdom leaving the European Union will be a bad thing for the European Union. The majority (62%) say it will be a bad thing for the United Kingdom. Fewer, but still a majority (58%), say Brexit will be a bad thing for the West.
Pessimism about Brexit aligns with Lowy Institute polling from 2016, in which a majority of Australians (51%) said that the United Kingdom ‘should remain a member of the European Union’. Only 19% said it should leave.