Brexit votes in the United Kingdom by gender 2016

In the Brexit referendum that took place in the United Kingdom on June 23, 2016, approximately 55 percent of men voted to leave the European Union, compared with 49 percent of women. The referendum itself was won by the leave side, after they won 51.9 percent of the vote in total. Overall, 33.56 million people voted in the referendum, of which 17.4 million people voted to Leave, and 16.1 million to Remain, a difference of around 1.27 million votes.

Is support for Brexit falling in 2024?

Recent surveys on Brexit suggest that an increasing number of Britons regret Brexit. The share of people of who think that Brexit was the wrong decision has increased from 43 percent in April 2021 to 57 percent by November 2023, while support for leaving the EU fell from 46 percent to 33 percent. At the same time, evidence suggest that other issues have become much more of a priority for voters. In early 2024, the UK leaving the EU was behind several other major issues in the UK, such as the economy, the NHS, and immigration. Furthermore, people in the UK are still divided over what exact relationship they would like with the EU, with only 31 percent commited to full membership as of late 2023. 

Younger voters backed Remain

According to exit polls on the day of the referendum, almost three quarters of British people aged between 18 to 24 voted to remain in the European Union. By contrast, leave was backed by a majority of people who were over the age of 45, with those aged over 65 the most likely age group to vote to leave. Across almost all of England and Wales, the leave vote was triumphant, with London the only English region to vote for remain. In Scotland and Northern Ireland there opposite was true, with the remain vote being particularly strong in Scotland where 62 percent of the population voted for continued membership of the European Union.