The result of the European Union Referendum in 2016 initiated a massive debate on why a majority of the British people voted to leave the European Union, also known as “Brexit”. Trying to answer the question, this essay will recognize cultural reasons, such as the idea of Euroskepticsm (the idea that opposes increase in the powers of the European Union) and cultural backlash of traditional value against progressive and modern values, and economic reasons as the dominating reasons that influenced the outcome. The essay will first use historical British foreign policies, opinions of political leader, Margaret Thatcher, and recent surveys to establish that Euroskeptiscm is a deeply rooted in the British culture, and that a large portion of the British population are indeed backing a Eurosceptic stance. The essay will then discuss how Euroskepticsm impacted the result of the Referendum. The essay will later demonstrate that a cultural backlash did happen in this Referendum by drawing evidence from research and voting patterns. Finally, the essay will conclude by acknowledging the influence of economic reasons, that people were economically dissatisfied by globalization and European integration, by comparing demographics and voting patterns.
Perhaps because of the geographic separation between the United Kingdom and the continent of Europe, Great Britain had always taken Eurosceptic stances in its foreign policies towards the EU, putting the nation in an awkward in-between position of a European nation and a non-European nation. The situation is appropriately described by Churchill’s words in 1930, “We have our own dream and our own task. We are Europe, but not of it. We are linked but not comprised. We are interested and associated but not absorbed (Daddow, 2015, p. 75).” From early 1800s to the current day, Britain always had an “outsider” or Eurosceptic tradition. During the time of the British Empire to 1939, Britain tends to stay out of European politics, “Despite increasing pressures to involve itself in continental affairs Britain preferred to support a balance of power in Europe form the outside as the best way to preserve its liberal institutions, its world trade and its military security (Daddow, 2015, p. 74).” Great Britain was reluctant to be involved with the affairs of Europe and draw away from the idea of European integration, for example, in 1956-1960 Great Britain tried to launch a British-led European project to rival and hinder the integration process of Europe (Daddow, 2015, p. 76). Even after the joining of the European Union, parts of the UK continue to hold the conservative and anti-European values, as shown in the recent rise of anti-European and anti-establishment parties such as the Referendum Party and the UK Independence Party (Daddow, 2015, p. 78).
Some of the past prime ministers have also expressed views that continuously pushed the British people towards leaving the EU (Daddow, 2015, p. 79). Margret Thatcher is perhaps a key politician that was able to bring the UK further away from European integration. Thatcher herself inherited many fundamentally anti-European traditions; British people saw the UK as a distinctive international actor, and not one of Europe. The sovereignty and the independence of the parliament, as well as the idea of gradualism are very much instilled in the British culture at the time of Margret Thatcher (Fontana and Parsons, 2015, p. 92). Even after Thatcher lost power, she left a lasting legacy on the next generation. The senior conservatives that shared Thatcher’s view on European integration were joined by the younger generation that grew up during the anti-European atmosphere of the Iron Lady’s rule. Again and again, Eurosceptic views have been brought up in the British political arena continue to cause disagreements within parties. (Fontana and Parsons, 2015, p. 93). This can be shown in the negative media coverage in the UK about the European Union (Dadddow, 2015, p. 78), and the increasing pressure from within the parliament. For instance, “ [David] Cameron came under increased pressure from Eurosceptic backbenchers within his own party…to manage the dissident voices and arrest the surge of UKIP, the prime minister launched he negotiation proposal (Jensen and Snaith, 2016, p. 1304).” Thus, it can be seen from history that the UK had always had conflicts with the idea of European integration.
As seen from the historical British policies and opinions of national leaders towards the EU, it should not surprise us that many British demonstrate Eurosceptic values. According to a survey in 2014, 62% of the responses backed a Eurosceptic stance, while only 13% wanted a more powerful EU (Curtice and Evans, 2015, p.5). Eurosceptic responses then increased to 65% in a 2015 survey (Curtice, 2016, p.6). Drawing evidence from the British history and recent surveys, one can assume that Eurosceptic values are deeply entrenched in the minds of the British people. A person backing Eurosceptic values are often concerned with issues such as sovereignty, national identity, and immigration. As shown in surveys, Eurosceptic tend to believe that the EU is undermining Britain’s distinctive identity and they ususally feel strongly about changes in immigration policies (Curtice, 2016, p.14). Indeed, “Studies…suggest that opposition to the EU is higher among those with a strong sense of national (rather than European) identity who consequently question the legitimacy of rule from Brussels and who may also be concerned about the cultural consequences of migration that is fostered by the Union’s freedom of movement provisions (Curtice and Evans, 2015, p.6).” These values and beliefs are fundamental obstacles against the super-national European Union and the Eurosceptic background of the British people became one of the main driving forces behind the desire to leave the EU.
Contributing to the effect of Eurosceptism, cultural backlash against progressive values is another driving force behind Brexit. Research indicates that since the 1970s, Western societies such as the UK have seen a growing emphasis on post-materialist and self-expression values among the younger and better-educated group of society which challenged the traditional values that the older generation are accustomed to. This has brought issues such as environmental protection, gender and racial equality, and equal rights for the LGBT community into the political arena, drawing attention away from the classic economic redistribution issues (Inglehart and Norris, 2016, p.13). These new changes in social values stimulated a cultural backlash among people who feel vulnerable by these development, especially among the less educated and older citizens who feel like their traditional values are being attacked. Furthermore, immigration, especially from lower-income countries, changed the racial and ethnic makeup. With many newcomers speaking different languages and having different cultures, the impression of disappearing traditional norms and values are reinforced. This can be shown through the voting patterns after the Referendum, “Under-25s were more than twice as likely to vote Remain (71%) than Leave (29%). Among over-65s the picture is almost the exact opposite, as 64% of over-65s voted to Leave while only 36% voted to Remain (Moore, 2016).” Frightened and left behind by the fast changing culture, the older generation were responsive to the Brexit Leave campaign and UKIP rhetoric, which often times reminisce about the time before joining the EU, more than forty years ago, “when the Westminster parliament was sovereign, society was predominately white Anglo-Saxon, manufacturing factories and extracting industries – producing steel, coal, cars – still provided well-paying and secure jobs for unionized manual workers in the Midlands and North, and despite decline from its glory days of empire, Britain remained a major economic and military power leading the Commonwealth” (Inglehart and Norris, 2016, p.16). Therefore, when prompted to vote, people from older generation (majority of the voters in the EU Referendum compared to the younger generation (Zaloznik, 2016)) are attracted to leave the EU in hopes of a society that adheres to the traditional values.
Another factor that influenced the result of the Referendum can be attributed to economic concerns expressed by voters who feel disaffected with the government and threatened by globalization and European integration (Holbolt, 2016, p.1). The 2016 EU Referendum offered the dissatisfied citizens with an opportunity to “stick it” to the political establishment. Therefore, the divisions found in the Referendum often portrayed a clash between the “losers of globalization” and “winners of globalization” (Hobolt, 2016, p.1). This clash can be seen when comparing small towns like East Midlands port of Boston to urban cities such as London. The small town, East Midlands port of Boston, provided the strongest support for Brexit (76% vote for leaving the EU) and Nigel Farage’s self-anointed People’s Army at the 2014 European Parliament elections. “Filled with disadvantaged, working-class Britons who do not feel as though they have been winning from European integration immigration, and the global market”, the people in Boston are not economically well-off compared to urban cities, and a third of the Boston population are without formal qualification (Goodwin, 2016). Life in Boston is drastically different from that of London (79% vote to Remain in the EU). London, a city that has benefited from the era of globalization, has twice as many professionals and 18-30-year-olds, and fewer than half as many working-class voters, pensioners and people with no qualification. The annual average wage of voter in Lambeth is almost 10,000 more than the wage in Boston (Goodwin, 2016). Across 20 authorities where support for Remain was strongest, 45% of voters received higher education, 42% are professionals, 26% are “non-white”, only 11% are pensioners and the median income is 27,000. But across the 20 authorities that showed the strongest support for leaving the EU, only 16% of voters have a university degree, 23% are professional, less than 5% are non-white, nearly 20% are pensioners, and the median income is 18,000 (Goodwin, 2016). It is clear that there is an apparent economic difference between the groups who voted Remain and Leave.
The motivation behind voters’ behaviors during the EU Referendum in 2016 can be seen as a cry of discontent from the ones that were injured by the rapid globalizing and modernizing world. Traditionally Eurosceptic and threatened by the changing social values, the British people continued to back Eurosceptic values in fear of loosing their nation’s sovereignty, identity, and traditional ideals. The fear continued as the suburban and uneducated portion of the population suffered economically as the world integrates further. Feeling the sense of disappearing tradition and culture and wounded economically by globalization, a majority of the British people decided to leave the European Union in hopes of a retro-society that they feel more accustomed to.