JUDY WOODRUFF: In what was perhaps the most
consequential decision in Britain this century,
voters are now having second thoughts about
their choice to leave the European Union.
A new opinion poll shows a majority of British
people now want to stay, and business leaders
are warning their once flourishing economy
will flounder unless the right compromise
is reached with the E.U. during exit negotiations.
Add to that a deeply divided government after
the recent election has left a hung Parliament,
and it has become harder for many to keep
calm and carry on.
Special correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports.
MALCOLM BRABANT: Aldeburgh in Eastern England,
this is Brexit beach.
The town's centuries' old fishing tradition
is on its deathbed.
In common with kindred coastal communities
around the country, fishermen voted to leave
the European Union.
They believe excessive regulation from Brussels
is killing their industry.
One year after Britain's so-called independence
day, Mark Foreman is worried that the country's
commitment to Brexit is wavering.
MARK FOREMAN, Fisherman: I thought that would
improve the fishing situation, but now I have
got my doubts.
I would have still come out anyway for anything
else.
I want the country to be run by British people,
not by the E.U.
I think there's too many people who are in
power who are against Brexit, and I think
there are so many people with money tied up
in Europe.
They just don't want to come out.
MALCOLM BRABANT: The government has promised
to revitalize the fishing industry post-Brexit,
but, in the current climate, Kirk Stripling
fears betrayal.
KIRK STRIPLING, Fisherman: I'm really afraid
that we will be sold down the river.
They will do a deal over something else and
sacrifice us fishermen.
We're in a ludicrous situation, where we only
catch what is in season at the time and which
is on our doorstep.
And quite often, we can have loads of the
fish in the sea right here and we have got
no quota to catch it.
So we sit here and starve to death, while
the fish swim by.
MALCOLM BRABANT: Polar opposite views about
Europe prevail 80 miles away in Cambridge,
a historic seat of learning and innovation.
This is Britain's Silicon Valley, whose ethos
is that science is collaborative and requires
an international, frontier-free mentality.
But campus director Professor Michael Wakelam
fears its cutting-edge biotech research and
development could be jeopardized by what some
perceive as the xenophobic nature of Brexit.
MICHAEL WAKELAM, Professor: We will have a
reduced access to the talent pool within Europe.
And, secondly, what Brexit says about our
approach as a country is that people no longer
want to work with us.
There is a perception that Britain is no longer
a welcoming place for talented people to come.
MALCOLM BRABANT: Cambridge-based entrepreneur
David Cleevely specializes in turning great
ideas into profitable businesses.
A self-proclaimed angel investor, he disputes
the Brexit mantra that leaving the E.U. would
enable British companies to exploit untapped
markets in the rest of the world.
DAVID CLEEVELY, Entrepreneur: We do business
in some of the most difficult countries, in
Pakistan, or in Nigeria or other countries,
for example, in South America.
And the amount of extra margin there is there
for increasing those exports is, quite frankly,
limited.
My concern about Brexit is that we have a
big market just a few miles away, and we're
not going to be able to access it as freely
as we could before.
MALCOLM BRABANT: According to a new opinion
poll, the result of the Brexit referendum
would be reversed if it was held today.
The survey showed that a clear majority, 54
percent, would vote to remain within the European
Union, and 46 percent would decide to leave.
It's quite clear that many Britons regret
the decision they made last year, and perhaps
wish that the Brexit mechanism could be reversed.
According to experts, that's technically possible,
but it's unlikely to happen.
At Trinity College, professor Catherine Barnard
believes the recent election, which left Britain
with a minority government, has further undermined
its hand during protracted talks to withdraw
from Europe.
CATHERINE BARNARD, Trinity College: In reality,
the U.K. is in a somewhat weak bargaining
position.
The famous phrase is to have your cake and
eat it, that it would be possible both to
leave the European Union, but have the best
bits of membership.
And it's always been clear that the E.U. wasn't
going to allow this, because why would they?
It's not in the E.U.'s interests for a country
to do what the U.K. did.
And so it's in the E.U.'s interests, as Chancellor
Merkel has said, is to look after the E.U.
27, which means being tough on the U.K.
MALCOLM BRABANT: This monument commemorates
the Great Fire of London, which wiped out
much of England's capital in 1666.
Many economists fear that Brexit will have
a similar impact on the city of London, Europe's
biggest financial services center.
The Japanese bank Nomura has said it will
move some of its operations to Germany after
Brexit.
Others may join the exodus.
This week, a city of London delegation is
heading to Brussels to appeal for a free trade
deal to preserve a sector that generates 12
percent of Britain's income.
Jens Torpe is the Danish publisher of a daily
business newspaper.
JENS TORPE, Newspaper Publisher: I think,
inevitably, that a number of bankers and institutions
would have to move over to the continent.
It's about half-a-million people working here.
I think you would see at least some 50,000
moving out.
So, I think it's going to have quite dramatic
implications for the city.
The latest growth figures for Britain put
us down on the same par as Italy.
We used to be number one in the E.U., so everybody
agrees that there is a crisis coming.
MALCOLM BRABANT: London's cosmopolitan Borough
Market is flourishing again after last month's
Islamist terror attack in which eight people
were murdered.
Some traders favor a so-called soft Brexit,
which would permit the continued free movement
of goods and people from the continent.
A hard Brexit would mean the reimposition
of import tariffs and restrict the migration
of E.U. citizens.
Marianna Kolookotroni from southern Greece
has been running this stall for seven years.
MARIANNA KOLOOKOTRONI, Vendor: It is a little
bit scary, I have to say.
But I am trying to remain positive, and I
really hope that nothing is going to change,
because it's not in the interests of anyone,
really.
MALCOLM BRABANT: Thea Wunder is from Italy's
border with Austria, and she fears customs
duty resulting from a hard Brexit would compound
price increases on her meat products, caused
by the British currency dropping in value
after the referendum.
THEA WUNDER, Vendor: So the exchange rate,
it has already affected it, so the euro has
much more value than it used to be.
So, I already -- the business already loses
money on that.
And there's only so much we can put our prices
up to be still fair and competitive.
MALCOLM BRABANT: Britain's tourism and hospitality
industry generates 10 percent of the nation's
income.
It relies heavily on foreign workers; 25 percent
of the three million people in this field
comes from the European Union.
The duty manager Bashir Issa is originally
from Somalia.
BASHIR ISSA, Duty Manager: British people
are not working in the industry, and we need
to have the European community or anywhere
else in the world coming to us with their
expertise, helping us and the industry to
grow.
MALCOLM BRABANT: The industry wants to preserve
freedom of movement, and is lobbying the government
hard.
Spokesman Vernon Hunte:
VERNON HUNTE, Hospitality Industry Spokesman:
We believe that the economy must be put first,
that the British industry, especially, of
course, from our perspective, hospitality
businesses, their needs and requirements are
put first.
NICK WARD, Britain: Independent doesn't mean
isolated.
It's an interactive independence.
Where do people get this idea that, when you're
independent, you're closing your doors?
They're mad.
MALCOLM BRABANT: Nick Ward relishes the freedom
of motorcycling.
Independence and national sovereignty drive
his continued support for Brexit.
NICK WARD: There's more to it than economics.
What Brexit actually means is that you want
to control your own borders and you want to
make your own laws.
And that is your starting point for negotiations.
Why do so many people want to come here in
the first place?
Britain is probably the least racist or xenophobic
country in all of Europe.
Try being black and playing football in Poland.
We want to interact and we want to maintain
this beautiful island for everybody and generations
to come.
MALCOLM BRABANT: British attitudes towards
Europe are turning, as people belatedly agree
with the so-called remainers that pre-referendum,
pro-Brexit rhetoric was flawed.
Business leaders hope the prospect of economic
trouble will convince the government to compromise
with Brussels.
On Brexit beach, Britain's schisms are as
deep as ever.
For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Malcolm Brabant
in Aldeburgh.
