Protest voters ‘quite worried’ as they regret backing Brexit Some of the people who voted Leave have revealed that they regret their decision after waking up to find Brexit had […]

Some of the people who voted Leave have revealed that they regret their decision after waking up to find Brexit had won.

Some voters assumed that Remain would win regardless of what they did and chose to register a protest or an idealistic vote.

However, while protest votes are a long tradition in parliamentary elections where they rarely win the seat – and stay localised even if they do – these votes may have made the difference in a tight referendum contest.

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‘I didn’t think it was going to matter’

On the BBC, a voter named as Adam told Victoria Derbyshire: “I didn’t think that was going to happen.

“My vote – I didn’t think was going to matter too much because I thought we were just going to remain.”

He added: “The David Cameron resignation has blown me away to be honest. I think the period of uncertainty we’re going to have for the next few months has been magnified, so I’m quite worried.”

‘Very disappointed’

On ITV, a voter named Mandy in Manchester airport said: “I was very disappointed about the result, even though I voted to leave, this morning I woke up and the reality did actually hit me.

“But if I had the opportunity to vote again, it would be to stay.”

She blamed “the pressure of being told” how to vote by both sides.

A Twitter user named Matt Stephens, who said he is a 30-year-old chartered accountant, revealed that he and his wife voted Leave because they thought the “establishment would take notice” – but they now feel a “twinge of guilt”.

‘Robbed’

Another user wrote that she felt “robbed” of her vote after “believing these lies” from the Leave campaign after Nigel Farage claimed it had been a “mistake” for Leave to pledge that the NHS would be £350m a week better off after Brexit.

I personally voted leave believing these lies and I regret it more than anything, I feel genuinely robbed of my vote???????????? — Khembe (@rambogiblet) June 24, 2016

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair, who campaigned for Remain alongside John Major, Gordon Brown and David Cameron, said: “Many people who voted Leave who saw this as a protest vote. And it wasn’t, I’m afraid. It was a decision vote.”

In Sunderland, the early-declaring constituency that signalled Leave might be headed for victory, BBC’s Nick Robinson said campaigners saw the result as a protest against the establishment, the Government and the EU.