Yahoo Finance Lord Hayward: Brexit impact will be felt for years as it broke voter ‘habits of a lifetime’
Brexit will impact voters for years to come after they broke “habits of a lifetime”, elections guru Lord Hayward said on Wednesday.
The Tory peer, who correctly predicted that Britain would vote to leave the EU, spoke to the Standard to mark the fifth anniversary of the 2016 referendum.
It comes as an opinion poll showed the country remains as divided as ever over Brexit.
“It has had a dramatic impact and I think it will continue to have an impact for quite a few years to come because it’s freed up voting habits,” Lord Hayward said.
“If you vote against your natural inclinations, then it’s easy to continue to vote against your natural inclinations. Because Boris was Leave and Leave won – Remain areas that are Conservative find it easier to vote against the Conservatives.
“You have this, not just with Chesham and Amersham, but you have it with Wimbledon, you have it with Esher and Walton at the 2019 elections - that swung heavily against the Government.
“You have it with the Westminsters and the Kensingtons and the Hammersmiths and Chelseas all of which because people had already been willing to vote against the Conservative Party - against Leave – and therefore once you’ve broken that habit of a lifetime you find it quite easy to do it the second time and then a third time.”
The elections guru said Brexit had also “dramatically” broken people’s ties with the Labour Party and said he believed it would be “long lasting”.
The 2016 vote plunged the country into political chaos that scalped two Tory prime ministers before producing a remarkable election victory for Boris Johnson.
Historic moments included Theresa May’s tearful resignation outside No10, a Supreme Court battle and the prorogation of parliament.
Conservative Party co-chair Amanda Milling described the years of tumult as a “rollercoaster” and added: “There was a point where everyone just got so frustrated, they’d had enough…I should call it a political soap opera called ‘Westenders’ because it really was like that at the time.”
In a December 2019 snap General Election Mr Johnson secured an 80-seat majority, including swathes of Labour’s “Red Wall” heartlands, which enabled his Brexit deal to soar through the Commons.
The Prime Minister marked the five-year anniversary by declaring his “clear mission” to utilise the freedoms it brings.
Mr Johnson, who spearheaded the successful Vote Leave campaign, said the country had voted five years ago to "take back control of our destiny".
It comes as a survey by Savanta ComRes found that if the referendum was re-run today the result would be a narrow win for Remain - by 51 per cent to 49 per cent - if undecideds are discounted.
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