What Were the Determining Voting Patterns of the Brexit Referendum?

Abstract

The Brexit referendum of 23 June 2016 is a key moment in British post war political history. This article describes the voting outcome and analyses the underlying explanatory factors. The vote was only weakly related to EU trade and economic policy. Instead, concerns about immigration seemed more important, in particular in areas that are characterised by low levels of immigration. Dissatisfaction with general economic circumstances and poor public service provision also played an important role.