Brexit: The scapegoating of the EU for the failures of British Neoliberalism?

Abstract

The fallout and aftershocks from the United Kingdom’s (UK) decision to exit the European Union (EU) in 2016 are still reverberating. With a nationwide schism dividing the countries that comprise the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to discord and resentment amongst the populace, the fissures created by this unprecedented occurrence have yet to be fully understood. Despite the contribution and coalescence of varying factors in determining the referendum result, this paper will put forth the case that the underlying pressures of economic insecurity caused by decades of neoliberal globalisation (NLG) were at the root of people’s disaffection, particularly following the global financial crisis of 2008 and the austerity measures enacted thereafter. Onus has been placed on the reclaiming of sovereignty, control over national borders and immigration from within the EU – factors that have been given the mantle of proxy scapegoat for what are essentially issues derived from the overarching theme of economic insecurity that prevails in the UK. Economic insecurity fed by socio-economic policies of past and present governments that have resulted in de-industrialisation and a squeeze on regional economies due to increased global competition, whilst simultaneously diverting investment into the financial and services sector in the South East of England to the detriment of the rest of the country. Such disparities in wealth and increasing inequalities provided fertile ground for the Eurosceptic rhetoric of the Leave campaign to leverage anti-immigration messaging tied to national identity politics in order to propel the electorate into making one of the most contentious and significant decisions the UK has faced in the post-war era.