That ecstatic Brexit moment in 2016, personified by Sunderland’s Samantha Adamson
Mrs Adamson and the good folk of Sunderland were right in 2016 - and here’s why
Montage © Facts4EU.Org 2023
They voted Leave despite job threats from Cameron, Osborne, and employers – and are doing fine
On 23 June 2016, the voters of Sunderland cast aside the threats made to their community and to their jobs and livelihoods and voted to leave the European Union. Nearly seven years on from that historic vote we look at that great city and its surrounds, and provide some facts about what they faced – and what has happened since.
In the EU Referendum in Sunderland 82,394 voted Leave and only 51,930 voted Remain – a majority of nearly 23%. This far exceeded the national average for Leave.
Voting Leave was about the whole UK, not just those living in Islington or the South-East
Sunderland is located in the North-East of England. We provide this information for those commentators and Rejoin politicians who never venture far outside the elitist districts of north and west London or the Home Counties.
Sunderland matters and Brexit Facts4EU.Org features it in this report on an iconic turning point on Referendum night and on the fortunes of the North-East as a whole.
Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary
The EU Referendum result in Sunderland
- Voted Leave : 61.3%
- Voted Remain : 38.7%
[Source: Electoral Commission.]
© BBC - Published by BF4EU in the public interest as part of a national, historic production by the BBC
EU Referendum night
On the night of 23-24 June 2016, millions of British viewers were glued to the BBC’s all-night EU Referendum broadcast, hosted by David Dimbleby.
The first four results that came in had all gone to Remain. Before Sunderland was declared at the city’s official count which took place at its Silksworth Tennis Centre, Remain was in the lead by 27,256 votes. With Sunderland, all that changed. For the first time in the evening and in one fell swoop, Leave was suddenly leading overall - by 3,208 votes.
Who can forget the unbridled and jubilant reaction from Mrs Samantha Adamson as her husband lifted her onto his shoulders in celebration as the result was declared? Yes, it was only one result, but it was a significant one and it even moved the international money markets. Suddenly the confident Remain side which had had almost every poll on its side started to get nervous.
The pressure on Sunderland voters – the Nissan factor
Nissan Motor Manufacturing UK is important to Sunderland. According to the Company it employs 6,000 people directly and around 24,000 more in its supply chain.
Nissan is a company that understands its importance to any government that does not want to see factory closures and workers laid off. It had previously made various statements about it having to consider its position in the UK if Leave won the Referendum and the UK exited the EU.
Photo right: Nissan Qashqai, © Nissan Motor Manufacturing UK - click to enlarge
Three days before the vote the Company had to make it clear that its staff would make up their own minds which way to vote, but added:
“It is Nissan’s preference as a business to remain in the EU”
- Nissan Motor Manufacturing UK, Sunderland, 20 June 2016
On 23 June 2016 134,324 people voted in Sunderland. 30,000 people whose livelihoods depended on Nissan represent 22% of that total, assuming they all voted which of course they didn’t. However it must be remembered that those workers will have had family members too.
If a good proportion of the 30,000 had voted in what they might probably have seen as being in their own economic interests, then the result would have gone the other way and Remain would have taken Sunderland.
So, what has happened to the economy of the North-East since the Referendum?
Just like the rest of the country, the North-East was threatened with massive job losses – regardless of Nissan’s decision whether to move to the EU or not – and with economic Armageddon. As we reported yesterday, the public was told that a Leave vote would immediately trigger a recession.
Brexit Facts4EU.Org has analysed the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics which run up to the end of 2021.
Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary
The North-East’s economy has continued to grow after voting to leave the EU
- Nissan has not left Sunderland for the EU
- The Company is even making further massive investments there
- The North-East’s economy has grown every year except for the Lockdown year of 2020
- There has been no ‘Brexit recession’ since the vote in 2016
[Sources: Office for National Statistics and Nissan Motor Manufacturing UK.]
© Brexit Facts4EU.Org 2023 - click to enlarge
About Sunderland
A port city on England’s north-east coast, Sunderland has undergone a transformation over recent decades. Once known for its home-grown shipbuilding industry, this collapsed while the UK was a member of the EEC (now EU) and has never recovered. In 1986 the Japanese company Nissan moved in and established the first of its automotive plants there, as we reported above.
Since then Sunderland has gone from strength to strength, adding the Doxford International Business Park and attracting IT, AI, and other technology companies. There are new shopping malls, civic facilities, and many of the river frontage areas have been redeveloped.
Nissan itself has done well. Figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders in January confirm that the home-grown Qashqai – designed in Paddington, engineered in Cranfield, and built in Sunderland – was the UK’s best-selling car in 2022.
- Nissan Qashqai was the best-selling car in the UK last year, with 42,704 sales
- First British-built UK best-seller since 1998
- Qashqai showcases UK automotive design, engineering and manufacturing talent
And what of Samantha Adamson?
“I definitely feel that working-class people got their voice heard”
- Samantha Adamson, on the BBC in July 2016
In October when Nissan announced its investment plans for Sunderland she told ITV News :-
"I’m absolutely over the moon that that has happened. I never thought for one minute that Nissan would turn their back on Sunderland just because we voted to leave the EU. Now that 7,000 jobs are going to be secure for the foreseeable future, I think it’s fantastic. It’s fantastic for Sunderland and now I think that the politicians and especially the Labour MPs just need to get behind Brexit and make it work."
- Samantha Adamson, Sunderland Brexit Campaigner, 27 Oct 2016
Observations
What's wrong with another positive Brexit report?
The Brexit Facts4EU.Org team sometimes feels that the only Brexit news that "sells" out there is negative. In our report we have presented another positive report on Brexit. In this case we have gone to the North-East of England - a part of the country which has been growing and improving its amenities for decades.
If you haven't been there recently, go and visit. The people are as warm and friendly as ever, their humour is still direct and sharp as a button, and they've gradually been rejuvenating their great cities and communities out of the changes brought about from the UK's post-industrial revolution.
If you want 'salt of the earth' you'll get it in spades in the North-East. Sunderland itself is certainly worth visiting and we thoroughly recommend it to all the metropolitan types from some other parts of the UK. And no, we're not being paid by the City Council or anyone else to say this.
The people of Sunderland bravely stood up to be counted on 23 June 2016. After nearly seven years since the EU Referendum, they deserve much more than they have thus far been delivered by the Government. It's time that changed, Mr Sunak. Please get on with delivering Brexit in full.
We must get reports like this out there
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[ Sources: Sunderland City Council | BBC | Office for National Statistics | Electoral Commission | ITV News | Nissan ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.
Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Wed 22 Feb 2023
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