Brexit: Majority of older Leave voters say significant economic damage is 'price worth paying', finds YouGov

71 per cent of over-65s would accept a big economic hit – and half are willing for family members to lose their jobs

A large majority of older Leave voters would accept economic damage to secure Brexit

A huge majority of older Leave voters say significant damage to the British economy is a “price worth paying” to secure Brexit, research shows.

No fewer than 71 per cent of over-65s are willing for the country to take a big economic hit – and half would accept a member of their own family losing their job.

The so-called “Brexit extremism”, uncovered by the pollsters YouGov, also extends to younger Leave voters, but only to a minority of them.

Among the much smaller number of 18-to-24-year-olds who backed Brexit, 46 per cent would accept significant damage to the economy, and 25 per cent would be willing to lose their job, or for a family member to do so.

The results add to previous research suggesting the strongest backing for Brexit came from older voters and that age was the biggest divide in how the nation voted.

Pensioners who are retired and own their own homes would appear to have less to lose from the economy going into reverse than younger voters, with their lives ahead of them.

The survey is likely to add to the anger of younger people at the referendum result and the fallout. Only a majority of over-50s voted for Brexit last year.

However, YouGov also identified what it called Brexit extremism on the Remain side, with 34 per cent happy for the economy to suffer if that meant Brexit could be stopped.

If it cost themselves, or members of their family, their job, 18 per cent of Remain voters believe that would be a price worth paying to remain in the EU – but 61 per cent do not.

Sir Vince Cable, the new Liberal Democrat leader, is the most prominent among senior politicians in arguing the public mood about Brexit will change as the economic damage becomes apparent.

But he denied, on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, that that meant he wants Britain to fail economically in a bid to halt EU withdrawal.

Overall, 61 per cent of Leave voters say that they think that “significant damage to the British economy to be a price worth paying for bringing Britain out of the European Union”.

Only 20 per cent of Leave voters are clear that such a price is too high for Brexit, YouGov found, while the remaining 19 per cent don’t know.

The results would appear to give weight to Tony Blair’s warning, earlier this year, about British voters who desire “Brexit at any cost”.

However, opponents of a hard Brexit are likely to argue the survey has found a majority sharing their view.

Even with 61 per cent of Leave voters willing to accept economic damage, that still suggests a large majority of all voters who would not – given that 52 per cent of the country voted Leave.