Brexit is the political movement in England to split from the European Union, which is an economic and political conciliation. In June of 2016, a vote was held about whether or not the country should remain or disassociate from the European Union. By a slim majority, the movement passed and England voted to leave. However, England would not formally exit until early 2020. This move to leave the European Union has been classified by some “as the biggest overnight change in modern commercial relations between countries”. The Brexit movement was an important early influential piece in the the rise of the right wing populism throughout Europe and the rest of the world that has taken place recently. Populism is best defined as a political movement that claims to champion or represent the common person. The affects and aftermath of this movement are seen today and brought about problems that England’s democracy faces as indicators of democratic erosion.
One of the reasons cited for the exit from the European Union is a theme that continues to be adopted by populist movements. This is the idea of putting one’s own country and people people first. A problem with this is the assumption that the country has disregarded and does not care about its people, an inflammatory assertion especially if the claim is backed. People who supported Brexit tend to agree with this sentiment, more specifically as it relates to immigration and nationalism. The European Union pushes taking immigrants in classifying it as a moral matter. On the contrary, supporters of Brexit believe they should take care of their people first before taking in those of other countries. Moreover, another aspect some disagree with the European Union pushing immigration by asserting that a strong national identity is important. Voters also believed that the movement was anti-elitist. This is a factor seen in other populist movements of recent such as 2016 with the rise of Trump in America and other examples. The ironic part about this is that in most countries, traditionally, the right wing represents the more well off individuals while the left tends to be the party of the less fortunate. This does not mean that the platform of a right wing populist movement cannot be backed by real problems, it is just interesting if the typical political make up of different party demographics holds true.
Since the implementation of England leaving the European Union about a year ago, some of the changes predicted by critics are starting to take place. In regards to immigration, England has disrupted the movement and flow of workers moving in. This is because the restrictions imposed resulted in fewer immigrants being able to move relatively freely throughout the region. England’s tightening of borders as a result of leaving the European Union also has served to hurt the country’s economy in relation to trade. The GDP of England dropped 1.4 percent in the first hundred days after Brexit was implemented, and it is expected to drop by around four percent over the next few years. This trade deficit on top of the lack of a labor force has brought about undeniable economic problems. It is also important to consider that all of these effects of Brexit have happened only over the last year. The problems that England faces will continue over the coming years and will be exemplified once the covid pandemic subsides.
Populist movements like this also serve to polarize voters. The United Kingdom has become even more fragmented and polarized than it already was due to Brexit. Voters in both Ireland and Scotland voted in higher numbers than those in Wales and England to remain in the European Union. This difference is seen in the political sphere of the UK. For example, Northern Ireland remains loyal to the European Union’s protocol. Regional differences in voting habits are expected, but this clear pattern of not seeing eye-to-eye is likely to be problematic moving forward. Polarization seen here is one of the precursors to Democratic Erosion and is a sign of an unhealthy democracy.
Although the effects of Brexit have notable negative aspects internally for England, it is important to consider the argument from its supporters that it has not all been bad. The basis for the argument put forth by proponents of Brexit is that economically, staying in the European Union does not inherently affect the country to the extent that some claimed it would. This thought process makes logical sense because London is such an important economic hub that leaving the European Union would not affect much. The problem with this argument is that trade problems have been detected in England since the implementation of Brexit. The trade difficulties and the labor force problems which have resulted in economic trouble cannot be denied. Brexit supporters claim that it is possible that some of this is due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This argument is compelling, and Brexit certainly has been overshadowed by the pandemic. However, there is no doubt that some portion of the economic problems England is facing are a result of Brexit. The problems with work force and trade are not seen at as high a level in other countries that are facing the same pandemic. Making immigration less free definitively affects the number of workers coming in the country to some extent, and the same is true in regards to trade. Although Brexit did not hurt the country as much as many critics believed, the problems it has brought cannot be denied.
Hi Caleb!
Overall, this post was really intriguing, and I’m so glad that I chose to read it because it really helped me better understand what happened surrounding Brexit. One point you made was especially insightful and it made me question the concept of populism in a new way. You said, “The ironic part about this is that in most countries, traditionally, the right wing represents the more well off individuals while the left tends to be the party of the less fortunate.” This stuck out to me because populism in general is a people’s party so to speak, so you would think only those who are less well off would be seeking populist leadership. It’s interesting how the opposite has happened here, and sometimes it’s surprising that right wing populism even exists. I also really liked that you explained the positions of both those supportive of Brexit and those not supportive. Thanks!
Hi Caleb, nice post. I think the way you lay out Brexit as a populist movement is very compelling, especially when drawing parallels to the populism that has popped up in the United States. One thing that kept popping up in my mind, that you talked about some, but I think could have elaborated on more, is how the aftermath of Brexit has affected populism in the UK. You bring up the detrimental ways Brexit has affected the UK’s economy, has this had dramatic impacts so far on the political dynamics over there, or is everything still muddied by the pandemic? It would be interesting to me to see exactly what proportions of pro-brexit Brits still support the decision in the current day.
Going off of that, do you think these populists movements have enough energy to maintain themselves over the long run? I can’t help but feel that eventually, the supporters of a populist candidate or party may notice that their day to day lives have not improved as a result of populist candidates winning office. So, do you think populism is a viable long term strategy for conservative parties that often do not actually have the interests of the common person in mind? Or do you think this is a facade that could wear thin? If it did begin to wear thin, what other political strategies do you think previously populist parties would turn to next? I have my own ideas of what they might turn to if populist rhetoric begins to run thin (it rhymes with bash-prism), but let’s hope that’s not what comes to fruition.
Hi, Caleb! I often view Brexit through the lens of race and xenophobia rather than class and polarization, so I really appreciated your post. It’s easy to take umbrage at the idea of a British “national identity” or what a Brit “should” be when one considers the colonial legacy England continues to benefit from. Chicken tikka masala is considered a national dish but the country’s anti-immigration tilt illustrates exceptions to who the “common person” is. After the failed 2014 Scotland independence referendum and 2016 EU referendum, I can only imagine the fragmentation we will see in the UK in the coming years. There has been a surge in support for Welsh independence since the Brexit vote, with about a third of residents saying they would vote to leave if a referendum were to take place tomorrow, something I’m shocked hasn’t happened sooner. In terms of a strong national identity and populist politics (and a completely different language to top it all off), Wales seems to have the short end of the stick in this union and I’m interested to see if they follow in Scotland’s secession attempts. Even around 40% of Northern Irish support reunification with the Republic of Ireland following Brexit. Granted, these states may not have the economic health to stand with complete sovereignty, but their departures would further exacerbate England’s trade and labor problem. In some ways, I think COVID has presented a unique opportunity for scapegoating any failures or shortcomings Brexit has. Like you said, it’s easy to blame labor shortages on lazy workers or strict safety protocols instead of the immigration restrictions Brexit would have pursued anyway, in turn hobbling a fair portion of the workforce.