Reviews

Brexit by Harold D. Clarke, Matthew Goodwin, Paul Whiteley

horseyhayls's review against another edition

5.0

An insightful analysis of the reasons for Brexit, using recent survey data as well as reviewing the history of Britons' attitudes towards the EU since they joined in 1973. As a more in-depth analysis than media reports at the time, it suggests that Brexit wasn't in fact as much of a surprise as general opinion would have thought. Since the beginning of Britain's membership in the "Common Market", the country has experienced fluctuations in public opinion about being a part of the EU, and recent surveying suggests national identities played a large role in both Leave and Remain votes (evident in the discrepancy between the Scottish votes for Remain and the English and Welsh votes for Leave). UKIP and it's voters make up a large part of the book's analysis, as well as a broader study of attitudes towards immigration in Europe as a whole. The sobering reality is that the unfavourable attitudes on immigration, refugees and 'human capital' generally attributed to the 'deplorable' UKIP voters is in fact widespread across all voters in the UK, and indeed in Europe as a whole. This may just be the beginning of the end; the EU band-aid is struggling to hold together the deep wounds within Europe.

My thanks to Cambridge University Press and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book for review purposes.