Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Diğer, ss.1-4, 2021
Five years on from the referendum, Brexit is still a matter of contention. Despite Brexit was ‘delivered’, in the words of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, its practical effects continue to be felt in the daily lives of British citizens. So far, Brexit has been thoroughly examined as to its multiple dimensions. In particular, the distinction between low-income, poorly educated, rural, ‘left behind’ Leavers versus well-educated, metropolitan, city-dwelling Remainers has taken hold. However, according to the research conducted by NatCen Social Research for academic think-tank UK in a Changing Europe, the left-behind narrative partly explains the story about the Leavers.
Depending on the hypothesis that the Leave-voting coalition is too large to be considered homogenous, this study particularly focuses on ‘more affluent Leave voters living in areas with relatively high levels of wealth’, called the ‘Comfortable Leavers’. Based on the data from eight online deliberative workshops involving 130 participants (73 Leavers, 55 Remainers, two voting none), this research examines the Comfortable Leavers’ hopes, fears, aspirations, and concerns, as well as the changes they want to see in the post-Brexit period.
Nevertheless, given their significance, it is more than necessary to analyse these findings from a larger historical perspective beyond Brexit, in the light of the deep political and socio-economic transformation that the UK underwent since the early-1980s, from Thatcherism through New Labour to the 2010-2015 Conservative-Liberal coalition. This is because it is not possible to entirely discern the salience of these findings by examining them in the limited context of Brexit. Besides, as the distinctions between Remain and Leave camps did not vanish following the referendum, this divide is still highly relevant for Britain, as seen in the 2017 and 2019 general elections, 2019 European elections and 2021 Scottish elections.
In the light of these facts, this paper mainly argues that the Brexit-linked views of the Comfortable Leavers show striking parallels with Thatcherism, New Labour, and the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition, particularly related to their intertwined European and socio-economic policy lines.