6 reasons why 'Leave' won

1.  Brexit economic warnings backfire

The public was bombarded with warnings about how they would be poorer if they voted to leave the EU but, in the end, weren't convinced by what they were told and/or believed it was a price worth paying. The CBI, the IMF, the OECD, the IFS - an alphabet soup of experts lined up to say economic growth would be hobbled, unemployment would go up, the pound would plummet and British business would be left in a no man's land outside the EU. But the fact the public discounted so readily the advice of experts points to something more than just a revolt against the establishment. It suggested far more people felt left behind and untouched by the economic benefits of five decades of EU involvement being trumpeted.

2. £350m NHS claim gets traction

The assertion that leaving the EU would free up £350m a week extra to spend on the NHS is the kind of political slogan that campaigns dream of: striking, easy to understand and attractive to voters of different ages and political persuasions. No surprise then that Vote Leave chose to splash it across the side of their battle bus.

3.  immigration: the defining issue

If they didn't quite bet the farm on the issue of immigration, Leave played what they knew was their trump card often and they played it successfully. The issue fed into wider questions of national and cultural identity, which suited Leave's message - particularly to lower income voters. The result suggested that concerns about levels of migration into the UK over the past 10 years, their impact on society, and what might happen in the next 20 years were more widely felt and ran even deeper than people had suspected. Just as crucially, it suggested Leave's central argument that the UK cannot control the number of people coming into the country while remaining in the EU really hit home.

4. Big beasts - Boris Johnson and Michael Gove

We always knew a handful of cabinet ministers would support Brexit but it was Michael Gove and Boris Johnson's declaration of support which really put rocket boosters under the campaign. The justice secretary brought intellectual heft and strategic nous to the table while the former mayor of London, after a bout of soul-searching, brought star appeal and ability to appeal across the party divide.

5. Older voters flock to polls

While experts will pore over the finer details of turnout over the coming days and weeks, the cry will inevitably go up that it was older voters which won it for Leave. Factor in research suggesting that support for Brexit was significantly higher among those aged 55 and over than among younger age groups - three out of every five voters aged 65 or over said they wanted to leave - then you have the foundation for Friday's result.

6. Europe always slightly alien

The UK's relationship with Europe has never been simple nor static. It took the country years to join what was then the European Community and, even then, when it was last put to the vote in 1975 many backed it grudgingly or for narrow economic reasons. Many of those have since changed their minds, with their earlier ambivalence turning into outright hostility. What appears clear from the campaign is that the vote to Leave was as much a statement about the country's national identity, and all that involves, as it was about its economic and political future.