This chart says it all: The closer we get to the Brexit deadline in March 2019, the more British people tell pollsters they think their decision to leave the European Union was wrong.
The data for the chart is based on YouGov polling, and each bar represents the average of polls taken within that month. The results show an almost straight line decline in support for Brexit since 2016.
Separately, the National Centre for Social Research published a “poll of polls”summarising results of its last six surveys, and it also found a majority favouring Remain, 52% to 48%. The NatCen poll was headed by veteran polling expert John Curtice, who says, “even if a second referendum does not take place, it might be thought important to ask whether or not, as the Brexit process comes to a conclusion, there is still a majority in favour of leaving the EU. After all, the answer to that question might be thought central to any evaluation of the success or otherwise of the EU referendum as a way of deciding what Britain’s relationship with the EU should be.”
The shift away from Leave toward Remain has occurred because of a slight weakening among Leave supporters who regret their vote, and from people who failed to vote in the 2016 referendum breaking largely in favour of Remain, Curtice believes.
At the same time, support for a second referendum on the terms of the Brexit deal is rising.