Brexit Result analysis resource

Okay, so we all know the result of the EU referendum by now. We've had a couple of days to get used to the outcome but, if you're anything like me, trying to understand how the contest was won or lost still seems like a minefield. What is clear, the outcome of this referendum is a sudden seismic shift in the Political landscape of the UK. Forget about the possible economic results for a moment, the impact on both the Conservative and Labour Parties is huge and likely to continue for many years. There is a very serious chance that the Brexit vote could ultimately lead to the United Kingdom breaking up and Scotland gaining its independance.

If you want a resource to start a discussion with your students, here's a quick lesson starter. It uses the analysis of the voting decisions compiled by Lord Ashcroft, available here. Ashcroft's poll asked over 12,000 people their decision whilst attaining a wealth of information about each individual, including their age, gender, socio-economic group, preferred racial grouping, stated religion and normal voting behaviour.

The resource asks students to 'guess' what was the majority preference for each category of the polled groups (either 'Leave' or 'Remain'). It then asks them to guess the percentage of people who went with that majority view (tip: the percentage must be over 50!).

Give each of your students the task sheet which can be downloaded from here. Run the activity in conjunction with the Powerpoint that is downloaded from here. The Powerpoint file includes the results which can be revealed. Students can work out their score - who can get closest to the maximum score of 36!

Your subsequent plenary could ask students about why they think the categories voted differently.