The EU Referendum

The UK voted on June 23rd 2016 by 51.9% to 48.1% to leave the European Union.

This section features all polls or surveys that asked people before June 23rd how they would vote in an EU Referendum, either in response to the wording that appeared on the ballot paper or to alternative wordings used before the referendum question was known. It also includes questions on how the EU Referendum was or should have been conducted such as whether the contest was a fair one.

Note that questions that ascertain people’s views on EU membership more broadly can be found in EU membership: good or bad deal?.

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Have the Politicians Delivered? Voters’ Judgement on The Brexit Process

26 March 2019

The UK has decided to leave the EU, thanks to a vote in a referendum held in June 2016 in which 52% backed leaving, while only 48% said that they wanted to remain. During the last two years, the UK and the EU have endeavoured to give effect to that vote. To date, they have […]

The Emotional Legacy Of Brexit: How Britain Has Become A Country Of ‘Remainers’ And ‘Leavers’

22 October 2018

It has long been evident that these days relatively few voters feel strongly attached to a political party. But it has been suggested that, in the wake of the EU referendum, many people regard themselves as either a strong ‘Remainer’ or a strong ‘Leaver’. Using data from the most recent wave of questions about Brexit […]

Do Voters Still Want To Leave The EU? How They View The Brexit Process Two Years On

5 September 2018

The negotiations between the UK and the EU are due to reach a conclusion this autumn. But how have voters reacted to the Brexit process so far and what impact has that reaction had on support for leaving the EU? This paper reports on the latest findings of a two-year multiwave study of public attitudes […]

Just 15 Months To Go: What Scotland Is Making of Brexit

9 January 2018

The debate about Brexit has a particular resonance north of the border. Unlike England and Wales, where a majority voted to leave the EU, Scotland voted – by 62% to 38% – in favour of remaining in the EU. This report examines whether voters […]

Has Brexit Reshaped British Politics?

18 December 2017

Despite the apparent ambiguity of the stances on Brexit adopted by the Conservatives and Labour, this report by John Curtice shows that voters’ views about Brexit did influence how people voted in the 2017 election – with implications for the values that were reflected in how people voted.

Understanding attitudes to the European Union: an intra-household perspective

8 December 2017

This paper, by Alina Carabat, Kirby Swales and John Curtice, analyses the extent to which, at the time of the EU referendum, members of the same household agreed with each other on whether the UK should remain in or leave the EU.

Half-Time in the Brexit Negotiations: The Voters’ Scorecard

6 December 2017

The UK public, including those who voted Leave in the EU referendum, have become more critical of the way the negotiations are being handled and more pessimistic about what the consequences of Brexit will be.

Does Scotland want a different kind of Brexit?

30 March 2017

What kind of Brexit would voters in Scotland actually like to see? This new report by John Curtice provides the first in-depth examination of attitudes in Scotland towards a number of the issues that will have to be settled during the Brexit negotiations.

Understanding the Leave vote

7 December 2016

What were the ‘real’ reasons behind the Brexit vote? The purpose of this report is to provide a high-level overview of the main findings from an analysis of the latest and highest quality data. We hope that it will stimulate debate, discussion and further research.

What do voters want from Brexit?

16 November 2016

This paper reports on how a representative sample of voters responded to a wide range of questions on what they would like to be included in agreements negotiated between the UK and the EU.

Public opinion on the EU referendum question: a new approach

20 June 2016

This paper considers whether phone or internet polls are more likely to represent accurately the current distribution of voting intentions amongst the general population.

The divergence between phone and internet polls: which should we believe?

25 May 2016

This paper considers whether phone or internet polls are more likely to represent accurately the current distribution of voting intentions amongst the general population.

How deeply does Britain’s Euroscepticism run?

23 February 2016

This paper addresses the question of what lies behind our attitudes towards Europe, using newly published data from the latest British Social Attitudes survey.

The two poles of the referendum debate: immigration and the economy

28 January 2016

What are the issues that matter most to voters in the EU referendum? This paper addresses this question by looking at what, according to recent polls, appear to be the issues that most divide those who wish to Leave and those who would prefer to Remain.

Disunited kingdom? Attitudes to the EU across the UK

2 December 2015

This paper examines the nature and scale of differences in support for the European Union across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Britain divided? Who supports and who opposes EU membership

21 October 2015

Using the evidence of recent opinion polls as well as two major surveys, we examine in this paper which kinds of voters appear more likely to want to leave the EU and which are more likely to want to remain.

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