Brexit Populism: Disenfranchisement and Agency

Abstract

The political earthquake represented by Brexit encapsulates wider trends currently shaping European societies: a populist turn against migration and free movement, the revival of protectionist and anti‐free trade economic policies, the growth of nationalism and xenophobia, and scepticism towards the benefits of globalisation. This chapter explores the reasons behind the populist turn in UK society, arguing that these are rooted in an economic, cultural, and political disenfranchisement of citizens that dates back decades but which has been exacerbated by the austerity policies of recent times. The chapter analyses ‘Brexit populism’ in terms of its particular political tactics, style and ideology: while sharing certain typical populist traits, populism in Britain is inflected in interesting ways. It shows the significance of one of the many lines of division in the Brexit vote by comparing and contrasting attitudes in Scotland and England, pointing to some of the mediating national and cultural factors and highlighting where and why populists fail to gain ground.