Brexit voters are increasingly pessimistic about Brexit.

Over two-thirds of Leave voters said in October that Theresa May’s government wasn’t handling talks well.

More than half think Britain is going to get a bad deal.

LONDON – A majority of Leave voters believe that the UK government is handling Brexit talks badly and will end up with a bad deal according to new research published today.

A new report by pollster John Curtice for the National Centre for Social Research and What UK Thinks has found that while those who voted Brexit last year still believe they made the right decision, there has been a sharp increase in pessimism among them about how the negotiations are going.

The report, which is based on responses collected from over 2,000 Brits in October, found that:

The proportion of Leave voters who think the UK will secure a good Brexit deal has fallen from 51% in February to 28% in October.

21% of Leave voters think Theresa May’s Conservative government has handled the Brexit negotiations well, down from 42% in February

These findings come as May faces a race against time to convince the EU that “sufficient progress” has been made on citizens’ rights, Britain’s financial settlement, and the Irish border for talks to move onto trade and transition.

Here is how Leave voters felt about likely outcome of Brexit negotiations in October:

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Foto: source National Centre for Social Research/What UK Thinks

And on how UK government has handled Brexit talks. Leave voters also feel the EU side has handled talks badly.

Foto: source National Centre for Social Research/What UK Thinks

The report, which was presented by Curtice at a seminar in Westminster on Wednesday, also found that long-term patterns remain in regards to public perception on Brexit.

For example, the British public still desires what has been dubbed the “have your cake and eat it” style Brexit, based on Britain taking back control of immigration from the EU while also maintaining free trade arrangements with the bloc.

Overall, there has been no significant recent shift in public opinion on whether Britain should leave the EU.

There has been a 2% swing in favour of Remain, Curtice said on Wednesday, with his latest findings producing a result of 53-47 in favour of Remain. However, this is virtually unchanged since February of this year.