Brexit: An Analysis of Eurosceptic Mobilisation and the British Vote to Leave the European Union

Abstract

In June 2016, Britain narrowly voted to leave the European Union in an in/out referendum on membership. Undoubtedly, the implications of such a vote are unprecedented. Recent mobilisations of Euroscepticism across the European Union have culminated with the first decisive move: Britain’s vote to leave the EU. In the following paper, the implications of Euroscepticism in Britain, as well as briefly discussed in Europe, will be placed contextually in an analysis of Britain’s vote to leave the European Union. The analysis does not intend to argue for or against Brexit, nor does it intend to be a comprehensive and fully-detailed account. In regard to the timing of the vote, many aspects of this paper are transforming and changing as events unfold. As a result, this paper intends to rely heavily on historical implications of Euroscepticism as well as a recent literature on the theories of Eurosceptic voting, demographics, and the history of the relationship between the UK and the EU. The conclusions of the paper wrap up the overall analysis of Euroscepticism, arriving at the conclusion that populist and anti-globalist sentiments driven by political parties such as United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) mobilised Euroscepticism, allowing for a philosophy to transform into effective policy change.