The 'Leave' campaign campaigned primarily on issues relating to sovereignty and migration whereas the remain campaign focused on the economic impacts of leaving the EU. This choice of key positions is significant since Ipsos MORI survey data on which issues Britons felt to be 'important issues facing Britain today' shows that immediately prior to the vote, more people cited both the EU (32%) and migration (48%) as important issues than cited the economy (27%).
Sovereignty
On the day of the referendum Lord Ashcroft's polling team questioned 12,369 people who had completed voting This poll produced data that showed that 'Nearly half (49%) of leave voters said the biggest single reason for wanting to leave the European Union was “the principle that decisions about the UK should be taken in the UK”.
Immediately prior to the vote, Ipsos MORI data showed that Europe was the third most highly ranked problem by Britons who were asked to name the most important issues facing the country, with 32% of respondents naming it as an issue.
Immigration
Lord Ashcroft's election day poll of 12,369 voters also discovered that 'One third (33%) [of leave voters] said the main reason was that leaving “offered the best chance for the UK to regain control over immigration and its own borders.”'
Immediately prior to the referendum data from Ipsos-Mori showed that immigration/migration was the most cited issue when Britons were asked 'What do you see as the most/other important issue facing Britain today?' with 48% of respondents mentioning it when surveyed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causes_of_the_vote_in_favour_of_BrexitImmigration is always there in the top reasons, and if you ask the Leavers what they want sovereignty over, it's usually "immigration". But the writer claims "opinion surveys do not support the view that European immigration was the dominant, or even a principal, concern for most Leave voters", and I think he's just wrong on that. And as he says, the single market demands free movement of labour too, and that's why May is trying to get a deal without single market membership. She knows the right wing vote will tear her apart if she keeps free movement.
= new reply since forum marked as read