The referendums of 1975 and 2016 illustrate the continuity and change in British Euroscepticism

The British public has voted on membership of the EU on two occasions. In 1975, based on a turnout of 64 per cent, two-thirds voted to stay in the EEC, cementing Britain’s place for the next four decades. In 2016, in a closely-fought contest, on a turnout of 72 per cent, 52 per cent of the public voted to leave the EU, with 48 per cent supporting remain. As Ben Clements (University of Leicester) observes, the political and ideological alignments underlying support for withdrawal were markedly different in 1975 and 2016. There were clearer similarities, though, in the socioeconomic correlates of support for remaining.