The 2016 EU referendum produced a narrow national victory for Leave, with 17,410,742 votes compared with 16,141,241 for Remain. Turnout reached 72.2%, and the final Leave lead was 1,269,501 votes. The figures below show how that result was built across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Contents
- The national referendum result
- Turnout and the size of the electorate
- How each UK nation voted
- England’s regional pattern
- Regional vote totals
- What the margin looked like
The national referendum result
The Electoral Commission recorded 33,577,342 votes cast in the EU referendum. Of these, 33,551,983 were valid votes according to the House of Commons Library, while 25,359 ballots were rejected, according to the Electoral Commission.
Leave received 17,410,742 votes, equal to 51.9% of valid votes. Remain received 16,141,241 votes, or 48.1% of valid votes. These percentages describe the valid-vote result, rather than the share of everyone registered to vote.
| Outcome | Votes | Share of valid votes |
|---|---|---|
| Leave | 17,410,742 | 51.9% |
| Remain | 16,141,241 | 48.1% |
| Total valid votes | 33,551,983 | — |
| Rejected ballots | 25,359 | — |
The House of Commons Library gives the winning margin as 1,269,501 votes and the Leave lead as 3.8 percentage points. The difference between the two percentages is therefore small in relation to the overall scale of participation: the referendum was decided by a lead of less than four percentage points among valid votes.
The result was a UK-wide total. It does not mean that every part of the UK voted in the same direction, and the national total conceals substantial differences between the four nations and between English regions.
Turnout and the size of the electorate
The registered electorate for the EU referendum was 46,500,001 people, according to the Electoral Commission. The 33,577,342 votes cast produced a turnout of 72.2%.
Turnout was not uniform across the UK. Scotland recorded 67.2%, Northern Ireland 62.7%, Wales 71.7% and England’s regions ranged from 69.3% in the North East to 76.8% in the South East. London recorded 69.7%.
The turnout figures describe the proportion of the electorate voting in each named area. They should be read alongside the local electorate because a high percentage and a large number of voters measure different things. For example, the South East had an electorate of 6,465,404 and turnout of 76.8%, while Northern Ireland had an electorate of 1,260,955 and turnout of 62.7%.
Among the four UK nations listed in the results, Scotland’s electorate was 3,987,112, Wales’s was 2,270,272 and Northern Ireland’s was 1,260,955. The English regional electorates included 5,424,768 in London, 5,241,568 in the North West and 6,465,404 in the South East.
How each UK nation voted
The House of Commons Library reports that Leave won 53.4% of the vote in England, against 46.6% for Remain. In Wales, Leave won 52.5% and Remain 47.5%.
Scotland moved in the opposite direction: Remain won 62.0% and Leave 38.0%. Northern Ireland also gave Remain the larger share, with 55.8% compared with 44.2% for Leave.
| Nation | Leave share | Remain share | Majority direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 53.4% | 46.6% | Leave |
| Wales | 52.5% | 47.5% | Leave |
| Scotland | 38.0% | 62.0% | Remain |
| Northern Ireland | 44.2% | 55.8% | Remain |
These national shares help explain how a UK-wide Leave majority coexisted with Remain majorities in Scotland and Northern Ireland. England was the largest component of the electorate and voted Leave overall; Wales also voted Leave, while Scotland and Northern Ireland voted Remain.
The Electoral Commission’s counts show the underlying totals in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Scotland recorded 1,661,191 Remain votes and 1,018,322 Leave votes, with turnout of 67.2% from an electorate of 3,987,112. Northern Ireland recorded 440,707 Remain votes and 349,442 Leave votes, with turnout of 62.7% from an electorate of 1,260,955.
Wales recorded 772,347 Remain votes and 854,572 Leave votes. Its electorate was 2,270,272 and turnout was 71.7%. The Welsh result was therefore a Leave majority, but with a smaller gap between the two sides than in several English regions.
England’s regional pattern
In England, London was the only region where Remain won a majority, according to the House of Commons Library. The Electoral Commission recorded 2,263,519 Remain votes and 1,513,232 Leave votes in London. The capital’s electorate was 5,424,768 and turnout was 69.7%.
Elsewhere in England, Leave led in the listed regions. The largest electorates were in the South East, at 6,465,404, and the North West, at 5,241,568. Turnout was 76.8% in the South East and 70.0% in the North West.
The South East recorded 2,391,718 Remain votes and 2,567,965 Leave votes. The South West recorded 1,503,019 Remain votes and 1,669,711 Leave votes, from an electorate of 4,138,134 and turnout of 76.7%.
In the East region, Remain received 1,448,616 votes and Leave received 1,880,367. The electorate was 4,398,796 and turnout was 75.7%. In the East Midlands, the corresponding totals were 1,033,036 Remain and 1,475,479 Leave, from an electorate of 3,384,299 and turnout of 74.2%.
The West Midlands recorded 1,207,175 Remain votes and 1,755,687 Leave votes. Its electorate was 4,116,572 and turnout was 72.0%. Yorkshire and the Humber recorded 1,158,298 Remain votes and 1,580,937 Leave votes, from an electorate of 3,877,780 and turnout of 70.7%.
The North East had the lowest listed English regional turnout, at 69.3%. It recorded 562,595 Remain votes and 778,103 Leave votes from an electorate of 1,934,341. The North West recorded 1,699,020 Remain votes and 1,966,925 Leave votes.
Regional vote totals
The regional totals show that a majority share can arise from different combinations of electorate size, turnout and the balance between the two campaigns. The table brings together the Electoral Commission figures for the English regions and the other UK areas reported above.
| Area | Remain votes | Leave votes | Electorate | Turnout |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East | 1,448,616 | 1,880,367 | 4,398,796 | 75.7% |
| East Midlands | 1,033,036 | 1,475,479 | 3,384,299 | 74.2% |
| London | 2,263,519 | 1,513,232 | 5,424,768 | 69.7% |
| North East | 562,595 | 778,103 | 1,934,341 | 69.3% |
| North West | 1,699,020 | 1,966,925 | 5,241,568 | 70.0% |
| Northern Ireland | 440,707 | 349,442 | 1,260,955 | 62.7% |
| Scotland | 1,661,191 | 1,018,322 | 3,987,112 | 67.2% |
| South East | 2,391,718 | 2,567,965 | 6,465,404 | 76.8% |
| South West | 1,503,019 | 1,669,711 | 4,138,134 | 76.7% |
| Wales | 772,347 | 854,572 | 2,270,272 | 71.7% |
| West Midlands | 1,207,175 | 1,755,687 | 4,116,572 | 72.0% |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 1,158,298 | 1,580,937 | 3,877,780 | 70.7% |
London’s 2,263,519 Remain votes were the highest Remain total among the areas listed. The South East had the highest Leave total in the same list, at 2,567,965, and also the largest electorate at 6,465,404. The North East had the smallest listed electorate among the English regions, at 1,934,341.
The table also shows why vote totals and vote shares should not be treated as interchangeable. Scotland’s 1,661,191 Remain votes represented a clear Remain majority there, while London’s 2,263,519 Remain votes came from a larger electorate and a different regional context. Each statistic answers a different question: totals describe volume, shares describe balance, and turnout describes participation relative to registration.
What the margin looked like
At UK level, Leave’s 17,410,742 votes exceeded Remain’s 16,141,241 by 1,269,501 votes. The House of Commons Library describes this as a 3.8 percentage-point lead, based on the valid-vote shares of 51.9% and 48.1%.
The regional figures show wider differences in some places and much closer contests in others. In the South East, Leave received 2,567,965 votes and Remain 2,391,718. In the North West, the totals were 1,966,925 Leave and 1,699,020 Remain. In London, Remain led with 2,263,519 votes to Leave’s 1,513,232.
Wales was also relatively close in overall direction: 854,572 votes for Leave and 772,347 for Remain. Northern Ireland went the other way, with 440,707 Remain votes against 349,442 Leave votes. Scotland’s gap was larger in absolute terms, with 1,661,191 Remain votes compared with 1,018,322 Leave votes.
Taken together, the statistics describe a referendum with high participation, a narrow national margin and marked geographic variation. The Electoral Commission figures provide the electorate, turnout, rejected ballots and area-by-area vote counts; the House of Commons Library provides the national margin, percentage-point lead and four-nation vote shares.