The latest Brexit polling numbers show young voters were the most inclined to stay in the European Union – and they will have to live with the consequences the longest.
According to polling data from YouGov, 75 per cent of 18 to 24 year olds voted to remain in the European Union, compared with 56 per cent of 50-64 year olds and 61 per cent of people over 65 voted to leave.
READ MORE: U.K. votes to leave the European Union, Cameron to step down as PM
On Friday, the UK voted to leave, with 52% of the overall vote.
Polling numbers not only showed a staggering difference in how people of different ages voted, but also how long voters of each age group have to live with the decision.
Those in the 18-24 age category will have to live with decision for an average of 69 years, while those in the 65+ category will live the decision for an average of 16 years, according to a YouGov poll and life expectancy numbers from the Office for National Statistics.
“Young people voted to remain by a considerable margin, but were outvoted. They were voting for their future, yet it has been taken from them,” said Liberal Democrats leader Tim Farron following the vote.
Young voters were angry with the outcome of the vote and anxious about what it means for their future and a more divided country.
“My first response was panic,” 20-year-old Lucinda Jones, told the Guardian. “I’m a recent graduate, already facing financial instability, uncertainty in the job market, trying to work out my future. A leave result means more anxiety for me, more instability to navigate and try to understand.”
-
![]()
The will of the British people must be respected: David Cameron on Brexit vote -
![]()
UK Prime Minister David Cameron announces he will step aside, saying country needs “fresh leadership” -
![]()
European Council president disappointed by Brexit vote -
![]()
It’s official. UK votes to leave European Union -
![]()
Britons react to vote to leave the European Union
Following the vote, Prime Minister David Cameron, who had led the campaign to keep Britain in the EU, said he would resign by October.
“I will do everything I can as prime minister to steady the ship over the coming weeks and months,” he said, “but I do not think it would be right for me to try to be the captain that steers the country to its next destination.”
READ MORE: ‘Out is out’: But what does leaving European Union really mean for Britain?
Cameron added that he would leave it to his successor to decide when to invoke Article 50, which triggers a departure from European Union.
Looking at the regional breakdown, most voters in Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to stay in the EU, while a majority of voters in England and Wales voted to leave.
Comments