Former Prime Minister David Cameron may have been campaigning for Britain to remain in the European Union (EU) but his speeches had the opposite effect, according to a new report on Thursday.
A study by influential UK think-tank Electoral Reform Society found that interventions by frontline leaders campaigning for remain, including Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn, unwittingly pushed voters towards Brexit.
“According to our polling, the effect of big personalities on voters’ intentions was surprisingly minimal numbers saying they had been made more likely to vote Leave by every personality was higher than those who said they were likelier to vote Remain because of them,” says the report titled “It’s Good To Talk: Doing referendums differently after the EU vote”.
“This may represent a large number of voters determined to demonstrate their Leave credentials no matter what, or a rebellion against some of the more ‘establishment’ personalities such as David Cameron,” it adds.
