One of the major factors — arguably the biggest — behind the Brexit vote was age.
Older #Brexit voters ignored the wishes of their children and grandchildren--who have to live with the consequences. pic.twitter.com/goCgBhVeHl
— Mark Elliott (@markmobility) June 24, 2016
Younger voters were overwhelmingly more pro-EU than older voters — just 27% of 18 to 24-year-olds backed a Leave vote, in stark contrast to 60% of over 65s. This was mirrored in other polling, such as that by YouGov, which showed an even greater gulf between young and old voters.
From my 12,000-sample referendum day poll — how Britain voted: pic.twitter.com/IiDGCtB5Wi
— Lord Ashcroft (@LordAshcroft) June 24, 2016
Basic lesson from #Brexit. Voting can actually on occasions change things. Thats why older voters vote. Younger voters take note.
— Gerry Hassan (@GerryHassan) June 25, 2016
Perhaps unsurprisingly, members of UKIP (96%) and the Conservatives (58%) were most likely to vote Leave, although all the major parties had at least 25% Euroskeptics in their ranks.
The parties which emerged as most pro-European were the Green Party and the Liberal Democrats. Of the major UK parties however, the Scottish National Party was most likely to back Remain (at 64%), although Labour voters made up the highest proportion of Remain voters UK-wide (39%).
Sturgeon convinces 64% of SNP voters to vote remain —> Triumph
— Owen (@goonerowen) June 27, 2016
Corbyn convinces 63% of Labour voters to vote remain —> Disaster, must go
Amongst English voters, the Ashcroft polling suggested a stark correlation between English nationalism and support for Brexit, with those who considered themselves "English not British" being twice as likely to back a Leave vote than those who considered themselves "more British than English." In Scotland however, that trend was reversed slightly, with 55% of Remain voters considering themselves "more Scottish than British."
1. 2016 #EURef
— Peter McLoughlin (@pmclauth) June 24, 2016
2. 2013 White Flight map (secretly deleted from the BBC website)#Bluehand@paulwestonlibgb pic.twitter.com/Rcre5hps64
In what is maybe the strongest indication yet that the Brexit vote was an overwhelmingly right-wing one, the Ashcroft poll compared voter preference with attitudes on issues like multiculturalism, social liberalism, feminism and the green movement. What the polling found, was that those who considered progressive issues to be a "force for ill" were massively more inclined towards a Leave vote.
More from my 12k referendum-day poll on how leavers and remainers see the world differently: pic.twitter.com/VgQ7Z6v9XK
— Lord Ashcroft (@LordAshcroft) June 24, 2016
How politically engaged are leavers and remainers? pic.twitter.com/NBEtNpEWfe
— Lord Ashcroft (@LordAshcroft) June 24, 2016
Political engagement seemed to be a factor in the result too — although the poll is open somewhat to interpretation — of those who claimed to pay "a great deal of attention" to politics, the vote was split 50/50, but those who said they paid "no, to a little attention" were much more likely to vote Leave (58%).
The UK voted to leave the European Union in a nationwide referendum last week by 51.9% — 17,410,742 votes.
