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It’s not me, it’s EU: over 1.6 million relationships either broke down or failed to get off the ground post-Brexit - London TV

It’s not me, it’s EU: over 1.6 million relationships either broke down or failed to get off the ground post-Brexit

by London-TV in LondonTV - Latest

The UK’s decision to leave the EU divided the nation last June, along with 1.6 million Brits who either decided to split up with their partner – or stop seeing someone new – citing the Brexit vote as a key factor.

This is according to new omnibus research and site data analysis by the relationship experts at eHarmony, which, in the wake of both the Brexit anniversary (23 June) and imminent British general election (8 June), measured the impact of politics on matters of the heart.

Generally speaking, opposing political viewpoints led to the ceasing of nearly 2.7 million relationships in the UK last year, including those in the initial stages of dating. What’s more, 1.6 million cited Brexit as a factor in why they split with their current partner or didn’t progress things further in new relationships.

Brits aged 25-34 (12%) were most comfortable disregarding a current partner opposing political views. Broken down further, those living in the capital were more likely to call time on a relationship with someone that didn’t share their views (7%), whilst Green (12%) and Labour (8%) supporters felt the largest strain with existing partners.

Looking at new love, single Brits aligned with the left-leaning SNP (16%), Green Party (12%) and Liberal Democrats (11%) most likely to turn down a first date due to political differences. And within the home, the vote saw over 2.5 million Brits argue with family members over conflicting views, with 813,000 completely cutting off a relative.

It therefore comes as no surprise that the issue of politics is still viewed by many as a conversational minefield when on a date. New data suggests it is less popular than topics like holidays, health and even the weather (see table one).

Yet, despite being a divisive subject, bringing up politics can pay dividends for those brave daters who take the risk – a fifth (21%) of Brits still agree that politics and intelligence go hand in hand.

Furthermore, eHarmony data shows that members who mentioned Brexit (either pro or against) in their profile actually receive more messages than the average user. Women receive an 84% increase and men see 90% more communications so even though we might not consciously put politics at the top of our lists, it clearly attracts attention.