Brexit voters: Who has changed their mind?

Sofia Izquierdo Sanchez and Alper Kara

Rationality and Society, 2025, vol. 37, issue 4, 423-450

Abstract: We analyse which demographic groups in the UK were more likely to change their views on Brexit following the 2016 referendum on EU membership. Drawing on a large individual-level dataset of over 12,000 respondents, we find that women and middle-aged individuals were significantly more likely to shift towards a negative view of Brexit during the UK–EU negotiation period (2017 to 2019). Our analysis reveals that women and middle-age individuals were more likely to develop increasingly negative views of Brexit over time, while older individuals were more likely to report more favourable views. We also find that individuals with higher level of education were less likely to alter their views, maintaining consistent opinions over time. Importantly, we find no evidence that pre-referendum exposure to austerity policies influenced the likelihood of opinion change.

Keywords: Brexit; European Union; referendum; UK; D72; R23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:ratsoc:v:37:y:2025:i:4:p:423-450

DOI: 10.1177/10434631251350032

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