UK EU Referendum Results: 2016 Vote Breakdown

The table below consolidates the headline figures from the referendum, drawing on the official count confirmed by electoral authorities.

What was the turnout for the Brexit referendum

The 2016 EU referendum drew participation from 46,499,501 eligible voters across the United Kingdom and Gibraltar, making it one of the largest exercises in democratic participation the UK had seen in decades. The 72.2% national turnout rate exceeded typical general election participation and reflected the high stakes voters perceived in the question of continued EU membership.

Turnout varied significantly by region and nation within the UK. Scotland saw 67.2% participation, while Northern Ireland recorded 62.7%—both below the national average. In contrast, South East England achieved 76.8% turnout, the highest among major English regions (Wikipedia Results page).

Wales posted 71.7% turnout, with the West Midlands matching almost exactly at 72.0%. These figures established a clear geographic pattern: urban centres and younger populations in cities like London and Edinburgh showed slightly lower engagement, while suburban and rural areas across England’s south and midlands mobilized at higher rates.

Overall turnout percentage

The national figure of 72.2% masked considerable local variation. Electoral Commission data showed London boroughs like Bromley (78.9%) and Kingston upon Thames (78.3%) among the capital’s most engaged, while Barking and Dagenham (63.9%) and Lewisham (63.0%) recorded the lowest turnouts in the city (Electoral Commission).

Turnout by nation

Breaking down participation by constituent nation revealed the clearest divergence in engagement patterns. England overall posted the highest cumulative turnout, but the distribution told a more complex story when examined at council and borough level. Scotland’s 67.2% came despite strong pro-Remain sentiment, while Northern Ireland’s 62.7% was the lowest of the four nations.

London Brexit vote percentage

London stood as the starkest outlier in the 2016 referendum, delivering a decisive 59.9% Remain majority in a country that ultimately voted to Leave. The capital’s 5.4 million eligible voters produced 3.78 million valid ballots, with 2.26 million opting to stay in the EU against 1.51 million who wanted to leave (Electoral Commission).

London results

The borough-by-borough breakdown revealed an even more fragmented capital. Inner London councils such as Lambeth (78.6% Remain), Lewisham (69.9% Remain), and Camden (74.9% Remain) recorded some of the strongest pro-EU votes in the entire United Kingdom (Electoral Commission). Meanwhile, outer boroughs painted a different picture.

Barking and Dagenham delivered the capital’s strongest Leave vote at 62.4%, followed by Bexley at 63.0%. Bromley, despite its high turnout of 78.9%, split almost evenly—50.6% Remain to 49.4% Leave—making it one of the few London boroughs where the result was genuinely close.

Comparison to national average

London’s 59.9% Remain vote sat roughly 18.8 percentage points above the national Remain figure of 48.1%. This gap reflected the capital’s demographic profile: younger, more diverse, and more globally connected than the UK average. Research from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s honours thesis programme suggested London voters were “less swayed by immigration concerns compared to national trends,” which likely contributed to the divergent voting patterns (UNL Digital Commons research).

Brexit referendum 2016

The 2016 EU membership referendum was held on 23 June 2016 after Prime Minister David Cameron pledged to hold the vote during his 2015 party conference speech. The question on the ballot was straightforward: “Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?”

Key date and context

Cameron had campaigned for Remain, arguing that a Brexit would damage the UK’s economy and international standing. His government published official leaflets extolling the benefits of EU membership, which were delivered to 27 million households in the weeks before the vote (Wikipedia overview). Despite this push, the result delivered a shock to political establishments across Westminster and European capitals alike.

Overall outcome

Leave secured 17,410,742 votes against Remain’s 16,141,241—a margin of approximately 1.27 million votes. The 51.9% to 48.1% split translated into 1,269,501 more votes for leaving than staying. Gibraltar, the UK’s only other participating territory, recorded 95.9% Remain—the highest percentage for staying in the EU anywhere in the referendum (Wikipedia Results page).

Recent referendums in the UK

The 2016 EU referendum was not the UK’s first venture into direct democracy, but it was the most consequential in modern times. The 2011 Alternative Vote referendum asked voters whether to replace the first-past-the-post system for Westminster elections, with 67.9% voting No. Scotland also held its independence referendum in September 2014, where 55% voted No to independence.

2016 EU referendum

The 2016 vote differed from its predecessors in scale and impact. Unlike the AV referendum—which had limited direct effect on daily life—the EU question touched economic, legal, and diplomatic structures that touched every sector of British society. Voter registration surged ahead of the 2016 poll, with hundreds of thousands of new voters added to electoral rolls in the final weeks.

Other notable votes

Regional devolution votes in Wales and the 1997 North East England regional assembly referendum rounded out the UK’s recent referendum history. The pattern across these votes was inconsistent: some produced clear majorities (the 2011 AV rejection), others narrow margins (2014 Scottish independence at 55-45), and the 2016 EU result sat in between—narrow enough to trigger debate about legitimacy, large enough to be undeniable.

The implication: each subsequent referendum will be measured against the 72.2% participation benchmark the 2016 vote established.

What percentage of the UK voted in the Brexit referendum

The 72.2% participation rate was the highest for any UK-wide vote since the 1992 general election, when 77.7% of eligible voters cast ballots. This made the 2016 EU referendum the most widely participated referendum in British history, surpassing even the 1975 EC membership referendum (64.5% turnout) that had kept the UK in the Common Market four decades earlier.

Voter participation rate

Across England, 73.0% of eligible voters participated. Scotland’s 67.2% participation was notably lower, as was Northern Ireland’s 62.7%. Wales sat at 71.7%, placing it between Scotland and England’s figures. Gibraltar, with a much smaller electorate, saw participation levels comparable to London—reflecting the cosmopolitan, internationally engaged nature of its population.

Eligible voters

The Electoral Commission reported that 46,499,501 individuals were registered to vote in the 2016 referendum. Of these, 33,577,342 cast valid votes, producing the 72.2% turnout rate. The remaining votes—roughly 875,000 ballots—were either rejected or marked as invalid, a figure that drew scrutiny from electoral watchdogs but did not alter the outcome’s validity (Electoral Commission).

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While London favored Remain at 59.9% and Scotland at 62%, the 2016 full breakdown underscores the narrow national Leave victory and deep regional divides.

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