The majority of voters want Brexit to be reversed, according to Britain’s leading pollster.

Voters see Brexit as a “big disappointment” and “not worth it”, leading to an increase in support for returning to the EU, according to the UK’s leading survey institute.

The decision to leave EU has ‘failed to stand the test of time’ and is blamed for worsening immigration and the economy, says Professor Sir John Curtis.

Writing in Sir Anthony Seldon’s book, THE Brexit Effectwhich is being serialized into The Independent, Professor Curtice said: “The 2016 referendum failed to resolve the debate over whether Britain should be inside or outside the EU. The country now finds itself outside an institution of which at least a modest majority would like to be a member.

“For the moment at least, a significant number of voters have decided that staying outside the EU is not worth it.”

The serialization is part of a new campaign The Independent on how Britain can rebuild its broken ties with Europe. The campaign – Europe: The Way Back – will include news, analysis, interviews and live events examining the impact of Brexit and what our relationship with Europe should look like.

Professor Curtice says support for Brexit has “changed significantly” according to 500 polls since 2016.

Over the past five years there has been “a decisive and steady move away from Brexit”. He writes: “As a result, the success of the 2016 vote as an exercise in direct democracy can be contested.

“For many, the situation is now seen to have turned out much worse in practice than they had anticipated.”

Similarly, immigration was expected to fall if Britain left the EU. However, while immigration from other EU countries has declined, immigration from third countries has increased sharply.

To read the extract in its entirety Click here

“Voters appear to have reacted to this unexpected experience by blaming Brexit,” says Professor Curtice.

According to the investigator, it is generally believed that Brexit has not had a major practical effect on the country’s ability to make its own decisions.

“Overall, Brexit proved disappointing for many voters. Most thought immigration would fall following leaving the EU. In practice, many now believe this has led to increased levels.

“While some have always had doubts about the economic consequences of leaving, there is now a widely held view that the economy would then be worse off.”

Some also believe Britain now has less influence in the world, he said.

“Brexit has largely failed to meet the expectations of Brexit voters. This suggests that it is not surprising that support for leaving the EU is much lower today than it was when a slim majority voted for Brexit in 2016.”

Professor Curtice concludes: “The narrow Brexit vote has not stood the test of time particularly well. Within a year, the balance of opinion was already beginning to tilt in favor of the decision, and by the time the UK left there was a clear, if narrow, majority against it.

“A few years after he left, that lead grew to a double-digit lead.

“On this issue, the hopes that Leave voters once had regarding Brexit appear to have been completely dashed.”

Claims that Brexit would restore Britain’s sovereignty have also been shown to be false, says Professor Curtice.

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