More than two thirds of subscribers to the Daily Telegraph will vote for Brexit, according to a study reported on the newspaper’s front page.
A survey of nearly 19,000 Telegraph subscribers found that 69% were intending to vote for Britain to leave the European Union at the June 23 referendum.
I don’t think these results are at all surprising. Letters to the Telegraph editor about the EU referendum have been running very heavily in favour of Leave.
And another finding - that most respondents support the newspaper’s columnist, Boris Johnson, to succeed David Cameron as Conservative party leader - is to be expected.
Johnson’s column is popular with readers. The paper has given his campaign set-pieces major billing since the referendum campaign began. And he has that odd anti-politician politician appeal (somewhat similar to Donald Trump).
So the survey found that 42% of the Telegraph subscribers want him as leader. Another Brexiteer, justice secretary Michael Gove, came in second on 16% with home secretaryTheresa May in third place on 13% and chancellor George Osborne on just 8%.
One standout figure from the survey is that 94% will “definitely vote” in the referendum. Age is a big factor in how they plan to vote; again, not a surprise.
People aged over 65 were the most enthusiastic about Brexit with 75% saying they would vote to leave the EU. Of those aged between 45 and 64, some 67% favoured Brexit and 32% backed Remain.
The younger cohort, aged between 18 and 44, were more split, with 58% saying they would vote for Brexit and 42% planning to vote Remain.
And what issues have most influenced the subscribers’ decisions? Immigration, which I anticipated to be the major reason for Leave voters, was placed third (at 51%). First was “sovereignty of the British parliament” (71%) and second, security (57%)
Trade policy was named as most important by 41% while 40% identified Britain’s “ability to influence the EU”.
The Telegraph article does not state who carried out the survey, how it was conducted (online or phone?) and the date it was held.
Detailed graphs of the results were carried prominently across two inside pages on Monday’s issue. It also contained another Johnson column, “You must vote to Leave, or wake up with the worst hangover in history”, plus an op-ed article by former P&O chairman Jeffrey Sterling urging Brexit.
And, as usual, most of the letters on the subject favoured Leave, which I imagine - in the light of the survey - to be a fair reflection of readers’ opinions.
In addition, the business section carried a column by Roger Bootle attacking economists for their pro-Remain forecasts and a large centre spread article by Szu Ping Chan, “Worthwhile leap into a future free of the EU”.
