Books

Books : reviews

Michael Ashcroft, Kevin Culwick.
Well, You Did Ask…: why the UK voted to leave the EU.
Biteback Publishing. 2016

The UK’s vote to leave the European Union shocked the world – not to mention many people in Britain. What it revealed about our country is at least as significant for the future of politics as Brexit itself.

Drawing on more than two years of intensive research by Lord Ashcroft Polls, Well, You Did Ask… explains how voters came to make the most momentous political decision of our time – how they saw the choice before them, what they made of the campaign, its personalities, claims and counterclaims – and why they ultimately chose to take the UK out of the EU. As the country sets about negotiating a new relationship with Europe, it also offers a colourful and revealing look at what our continental neighbours think about Britain and the British.

To think clearly about what the referendum result means, we first need to understand how it came about. The answers are in this book.