The 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum took place in the United Kingdom and Gibraltar on 23 June 2016.^[1][2] Membership of the European Union had been a topic of political debate in the United Kingdom since the country joined the European Communities (then commonly referred to as the "Common Market" by the British people) in 1973. This referendum was conducted very differently from the European Communities membership referendum in 1975; a more localised and regionalised counting procedure was used, and the ballot was overseen by the Electoral Commission, a public body which did not exist at the time of the first vote. This article lists, by voting area for Great Britain and Gibraltar and by parliamentary constituency for Northern Ireland, all the results of the referendum, each ordered into national and regional sections.

Quick Facts Choice, Votes ...

2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum

23 June 2016
Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?
Results
Choice Votes  % Leave 17,410,742 51.89% Remain 16,141,241 48.11% Valid votes 33,551,983 99.92% Invalid or blank votes 25,359 0.08% Total votes 33,577,342 100.00% Registered voters/turnout 46,500,001 72.21%
Results by local voting area Leave:      50–60%      60–70%      70-80% Remain:      50–60%      60–70%      70-80%      90-100%
On the map, the darker shades for a colour indicate a larger margin. The electorate of 46.5m represents 70.8% of the population.

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Under the provisions of the European Union Referendum Act 2015, there were a total of 382 voting areas across twelve regions, using the same boundaries as used in European Parliamentary elections since 1999, under the provisions of the European Parliamentary Elections Act 2002, with votes counted at local authority level. In England the 326 local government districts were used as the voting areas; these consist of all unitary authorities, all metropolitan boroughs, all shire districts, the London boroughs, the City of London and the Isles of Scilly.^[3] The nine regions of England were then also used to count the votes at the regional level, with Gibraltar being regarded as part of South West England. Northern Ireland was a single voting area as well as being a regional count, although local totals by Westminster parliamentary constituency area were announced.^[3] In Scotland the 32 Scottish council areas were used as voting areas, and there was a single national count.^[3] In Wales the 22 Welsh council areas were used as the voting areas, and there was a single national count.^[3]

Verification and counting began as soon as the polls closed on 23 June from 22:00 BST onwards (making it the first UK-wide referendum to be counted overnight) and took nine hours and twenty minutes to complete. The result of the referendum was forecast by the BBC just before 04:40 BST (around 6 hours 40 minutes after polls closed), with around 308 results declared at the time. The first result announced was Gibraltar, and the last was Cornwall.

On 24 June 2016, the recorded result was that the UK voted to leave the European Union by 51.89% for Leave to 48.11% for Remain, a small margin of 3.78%. This corresponded to 17,410,742 votes to leave and 16,141,241 to remain, a margin of 1,269,501 votes.

The final result of the referendum for the United Kingdom and Gibraltar was declared at Manchester Town Hall at 0720 BST on Friday 24 June 2016, after all the 382 voting areas and the twelve UK regions had declared their results, by the then Chief Counting Officer (CCO) for the referendum, Jenny Watson. In a UK-wide referendum, the position of Chief Counting Officer (CCO) is held by the chair of the Electoral Commission.^[4] The following figures are as reported by the Electoral Commission.^[5]

"Leave the European Union", which secured a majority of 1,269,501 votes (3.78%) over those who had voted in favour of "Remain a member of the European Union", with England (except Greater London) and Wales voting to "Leave" while Greater London, Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to "Remain".

Results by United Kingdom constituent countries and Gibraltar

More information Country, Electorate ...

Country		Electorate	Turnout of eligible voters	Votes		Proportion of votes		Invalid votes
				Remain	Leave	Remain	Leave
	England	38,981,662	73.0%	13,247,674	15,187,583	46.59%	53.41%	22,157
	Gibraltar	24,119	83.7%	19,322	823	95.91%	4.08%	27
	Northern Ireland	1,260,955	62.3%	440,707	349,442	55.78%	44.22%	384
	Scotland	3,987,112	67.2%	1,661,191	1,018,322	62.00%	38.00%	1,666
	Wales	2,270,272	71.7%	772,347	854,572	47.47%	52.53%	1,135

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The English local districts were used as the voting areas for the referendum in England; these consist of all unitary authorities, all metropolitan districts, all non-metropolitan districts, the London boroughs, the City of London and the Isles of Scilly.^[3]

Unlike the other constituent countries of the United Kingdom there was no centralised national count of the votes in England as counting was done within the nine separate regions. Figures from Gibraltar are included in the South West England region.

England was broken down into 9 regional count areas using the same regional constituency boundaries as used in European Parliamentary elections.

Northern Ireland was a single voting area, as well as being a regional count although local totals were announced in each of the Westminster parliamentary constituency areas within Northern Ireland.^[3]

Northern Ireland local totals by Parliamentary constituencies.

The Scottish council areas were used as the voting areas for the referendum throughout Scotland.

Scotland was broken down into 32 voting areas.

While all council counting areas show a majority to remain, one constituency, Banff and Buchan, voted to leave by an estimated ratio of 54% to 46%.^[8][9] Voting to leave the EU was most concentrated around the north coast of Aberdeenshire between the fishing towns of Banff and Peterhead, where there were 23,707 Leave votes to 14,918 Remain votes (61% Leave 39% Remain).^[10]

The areas of Whalsay and South Unst in the Shetland Islands and An Taobh Siar and Nis in Na h-Eileanan an Iar (The Western Isles) also voted by a majority for Leave,^[11] as did the town of Lossiemouth in Moray.^[12][13]

The Welsh council areas were used as the voting areas for the referendum throughout Wales.

A total of 650,000 inhabitants born in England live in Wales (21%), with the areas with the highest percentages voting to leave.^[14] The majority to leave the EU was 82,000.^[14] The map shows council areas comprising ex-heavy industrial places and English-speaking as a common preference as areas where Leave won out. Parts of rural Wales also saw a leave-vote majority (but also Anglesey where Welsh is just as commonly if not more usually spoken). Cardiff, the Plaid Cymru heartland of the two council areas in West Wales, and by wafer-thin margins affluent Monmouthshire and the Vale of Glamorgan were the areas where Remain held sway.

Note: In Wales under the Welsh Language Act 1993 the Welsh language has equal status with the English language.

Wales was broken down into 22 voting areas.

The vote was not counted by Commons seat except in Northern Ireland. Some local councils (districts) republished local results by electoral ward or constituency. Some constituencies are coterminous with (overlap) their local government district. For the others Dr Chris Hanretty, a Reader in Politics at the University of East Anglia, estimated through a demographic model the 'Leave' and 'Remain' vote.^[15] Hanretty urges caution in the interpretation of the data as the estimates have a margin of error.