A 2017 study published in the journal
Economic Policy showed that the Leave vote tended to be greater in areas which had lower incomes and high
unemployment, a strong tradition of
manufacturing employment, and in which the population had fewer
qualifications. It also tended to be greater where there was a large flow of Eastern European migrants (mainly low-skilled workers) into areas with a large share of native low-skilled workers.
[78] Those in lower
social grades (especially the
working class) were more likely to vote Leave, while those in higher social grades (especially the
upper middle class) more likely to vote Remain.
[79][80][81] Studies found that the Leave vote tended to be higher in areas affected by economic decline,
[82] high rates of suicides and drug-related deaths,
[83] and
austerity reforms introduced in 2010.
[84]
Studies suggest that older people were more likely to vote Leave, and younger people more likely to vote Remain.
[85] According to Thomas Sampson, an economist at the
London School of Economics, "Older and less-educated voters were more likely to vote 'leave' [...] A majority of white voters wanted to leave, but only 33% of Asian voters and 27% of black voters chose leave. [...] Leaving the European Union received support from across the political spectrum [...] Voting to leave the European Union was strongly associated with holding socially conservative political beliefs, opposing cosmopolitanism, and thinking life in Britain is getting worse."
[86]
