Revealed: our snapshot poll has a clear winner

A snapshot Gazette survey on the EU referendum produced a thumping victory for those in favour of remaining in the union.

We asked 50 people in the centre of Canterbury how they would vote on June 23, with 62% stating they want Britain to stay in the EU, and just 30% saying they would vote out.

The size of the margin of victory differs from most national polls, which forecast a narrow win for the Remain camp.

Prof Richard Scase, an expert in business strategy, says surveys depend on the type of people asked.

“I did my own little survey going into pubs in Canterbury and found that it was about 60-40 in favour of voting out,” said Prof Scase, emeritus professor at University of Kent’s Business School.

“That may well have been because the sort of people I asked in pubs were a bit older.

“We are seeing this pattern across the country as a whole.

“Older people are tending to be more likely to vote out. But Canterbury is a broadly liberal city because of its universities, which also makes it quite a young city.

“So if you are in central Canterbury asking people how they intend to vote, you will probably come across more young people who vote in.”

Prof Scase, who is also a Gazette columnist and keynote speaker, says the other major dividing line is class.

“People in professional or managerial employment or in the public sector are likely to vote to stay in the EU, whereas people in lower paid jobs might worry about future employment opportunities and could fear for security of their jobs,” he said.

“They may also have other concerns about access to health services and schools that continued EU membership might have an effect on.”

Of four people who said they had no intention of voting, three said they did not care about the outcome.

The fourth, a bearded man outside the Third Eye shop in St Peter’s Street, said he would not vote because he hoped “one day to see the destruction of all forms of

Prof Richard Scase