Partner Effects and Gender Gaps in Vote Choice in the United Kingdom: Brexit and Subsequent Elections

This article explores differences in voting behaviour between those that were single and those that had a Eurosceptic or Europhile partner at the United Kingdom’s 2016 referendum on EU membership and subsequent elections. It emphasises the importance of considering partners when studying gender gaps in political behaviour. This article argues that the relationships men and women form with one another, particularly long-term partners who cohabit, should reduce differences in their voting behaviour as they share resources and discuss politics, and finds that otherwise similar individuals were indeed more likely to vote Leave if they had a Leave partner, or for a Eurosceptic party at subsequent general elections. As older people are more likely to have a long-term partner, this article argues that this can help us understand gender by age differences in voting behaviour at the referendum and subsequent elections.