How has Brexit changed British Euroscepticism?
| Author | Simon Usherwood |
| Date | 01 September 2017 |
| DOI | 10.1177/2041905817726907 |
| Published date | 01 September 2017 |
42 POLITICAL INSIGHT • SEPTEMBER 2017
At rst glance, the 2016 EU
referendum result was the clearest
possible vindication of the many
years of concerted action by
British Eurosceptics: on a high turnout, a
majority of people voted to leave the EU, even
if many of them wouldn’t have particularly
described themselves as Eurosceptics. The
result has opened up a new path, out of
the European Union and into some new
situation. Even if that situation continues
to lack denition and substance, the mere
knowledge of its existence will prove to be
an attractive lure for others. And yet, there
is a potentially fatal twist to the success of
the Eurosceptic movement, for it now faces
a literally existential crisis. For the quarter
century since the Maastricht treaty there has
been the critique – something’s wrong with
the EU – and a solution – reform or exit that
organisation. Now that the country is indeed
exiting, both the casual observer and the
academic scholar might ask: what happens
next. Does the movement continue, change
or die?
Understanding Euroscepticism
Before we can answer this question, it’s helpful
to set out some context, of how the UK
arrived at this place and where this place is. In
many ways, the UK has been the wellspring
of Euroscepticism. This was the country
that invented the very word and saw the
creation of the very rst modern Eurosceptic
groups at the end of that decade, building o
Margaret Thatcher’s 1988 Bruges speech. The
Maastricht treaty provided further mobilisation
opportunities, with a raft of groups from
across the political spectrum being formed,
and creating the basis for a much more
critical political space in the UK for discussing
European integration. Aided and abetted by a
print press willing to give a platform to these
groups, and a succession of governments not
prepared to go beyond reactive problem/
crisis management with regard to the EU,
Eurosceptics were able to set public agendas
to a very considerable extent, even if their
power to make decisions remained very
limited.
This last point is an important one, especially
given the claims made by the likes of Nigel
Farage after the referendum. For all the media
attention that more focused, single-issue
Eurosceptics received, it was those political
actors for whom Euroscepticism was only one
part of their make-up who actually shaped
How has Brexit changed
British Euroscepticism?
The UK has long been the wellspring of Euroscepticism. But in the wake of Brexit what does the future hold
for British Eurosceptics? Simon Usherwood investigates.
© Press Association
Political Insight Sept2017.indd 42 21/07/2017 11:58
To continue reading
Request your trial