Green Party Manifesto: Reasons behind the Brexit vote

“[Theresa May] has no mandate for the type of Brexit she is pursuing—out of the single market, out of the customs union, leaving key social and environmental protections behind, leaving free movement. That was not on the ballot paper.”

• The only question on the ballot paper last June was “Leave” or “Remain” - which left a lot to be decided by the government. It’s difficult to know exactly why people voted to leave, but we can get an idea of the issues that generally concerned Leave voters.
• The vast majority of voters who said immigration and sovereignty were most important to them in deciding how to vote in the referendum, voted for Leave according to social researchers NatCen.
• NatCen also found that voters who wanted to Leave the EU were also much more likely to say that immigration generally should be a priority for the government, outside of the context of the EU.
• 72% of Leave voters agreed that being in the EU undermined British independence.
• All this matters in terms of the single market, in particular, because membership involves free movement of people and accepting EU laws.
• In terms of environmental protections, the proposed “Great Repeal Bill” will keep all EU environmental rules for now, but they can now be changed in future rather than legally guaranteed by EU membership.