Yeah 52% of those who could be bothered to vote. The non voters polled about 60-40 remain so you could argue the will of the people including the lazy was remain.
Though of course there isn't really a single will of the people, just a lot of people with differing opinions.
Citizens of other EU member states, living in Britain, were not eligible to vote (with a few exceptions), and nor were British citizens who had been living in other EU member states for "too long". Moreover, 16 and 17 year olds were disenfranchised too, despite that age group being allowed to vote in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.
>> You can't possibly advocate letting non UK citizens decide for UK matters.
I don't see why not.
I have lived in UK for 8 years, and pay my taxes here. I'm a productive member of the society, I consider Theresa May as much my prime minister as any British person would. The result of the referendum affects me hugely, and yet I couldn't vote because my passport does not say "Great Britain" on it.
And like the other commenter has said - there was plenty of non-British citizens who were allowed to vote.
In fact non UK citizens do vote. Any citizeon of Ireland or of a Commonwealth nation, resident in the UK, is entitled to vote in every UK general election.
16 and 17 year olds do not vote in UK general elections, but I think that a referendum about the UK leaving the EU is more comparable to the referendum about Scotland leaving the UK.
The effects of such a change can last for generations and be hard to reverse, and potentially affect younger people for longer than older people. For those reasons, I think it is better to err on the side of greater franchise than less.
Though of course there isn't really a single will of the people, just a lot of people with differing opinions.