How Brexiteers appealed to voters’ nostalgia. Most referendums ask voters whether they want to join a political project. Britain’s EU referendum did the opposite. Elliott Green argues the campaigning was suffused by appeals to nostalgia and to a past in which Britain “took control”. He identifies four groups of voters to whom this message appealed: imperialist nostalgists; racists; non-racist and non-imperialist nationalists; older voters. Now the dust has settled a bit on last month’s vote, we should reflect on the deep conflicts it revealed about sort of nation the UK’s people would like it to be.
In contrast, the Brexit vote was a choice between the status quo or returning to what the UK looked like before it joined the European Community in 1973. Far from appealing solely to a narrow group of anti-EU activists, these calls for returning to the past were directed at a variety of voters – in particular four overlapping groups of people: 1) Imperialist nostalgists. 2) Racists. 3) Non-racist and non-imperialist nationalists. A Generation Apart: Were younger people left behind by the EU referendum? - CoVi – Common Vision UK. It was one of the big stories to emerge in the wake of the EU referendum result: the gulf between how younger and older people voted.
This report, A Generation Apart: Were young people left behind by the EU referendum? Takes an in-depth look into youth participation in the European referendum and the drivers behind the attitudes of the “millennials”, or younger people between 18 and 35. Download the full report here. The report draws on post-referendum polling conducted with Opinium Research, which finds that 73% of under 25s and 59% of 25-34 year old voters opted to Remain in the EU. This preference is reflected in wider social attitudes and identities.
Younger people care more about global issues such as environmentalism, human rights and humanitarian aid. They are less aligned with traditional notions of sovereignty, and less likely to hold strong nationalist views. The growing crisis that is low voter turnout among Generation Y in elections requires innovative solutions. It is easy to despair of our leaders, but Brexit has exposed Britain’s rotten core | Linda Colley | Opinion. David Cameron has had a good week. Never mind that he took a gamble with the UK’s future, lost his bet and then opted to retire from what seem likely to be protracted and unpleasant consequences; in media terms he has been able more or less to recede from view. Instead, the spotlight has been on other individuals: on the delicious backstabbing among competing Conservatives, on the struggles between the Corbynistas and their opponents and on Chilcot’s weighty verdict on the failings of an earlier prime minister, Tony Blair.
But what if the essence of our present problems is more than a matter of individuals? It is unlikely to be an accident, for instance, that Blair and Cameron, skilful political players both, each came to grief over matters to do with foreign affairs. This is a sector of government where traditionally prime ministers are given a great deal of leeway. Perhaps too much leeway. Cameron did not, for example, opt for a referendum on the EU chiefly to cater to democracy. How remain failed: the inside story of a doomed campaign | Rafael Behr | Politics. On Friday 10 June, five men charged with keeping Britain in the European Union gathered in a tiny, windowless office and stared into the abyss.
Just moments before, they had received an email from Andrew Cooper, a former Downing Street strategist and pollster for the official remain campaign, containing the daily “tracker” – the barometer of support among target segments of the electorate. It had dropped into the defeat zone. The cause was not mysterious. “Immigration was snuffing out our opportunity to talk about the economy,” Will Straw, the executive director of Britain Stronger In Europe, recalled. Earlier that week, the top Tories fronting the leave campaign – Boris Johnson and Michael Gove – had dominated the news with promises to control the nation’s borders.
The remain side’s message, that Brexit entailed deadly economic risk, was being drowned out, particularly in areas that traditionally supported Labour. Straw mobilised his Labour contacts. The advantage went the other way. Let down and left out: Young voters and the EU referendum. The EU referendum campaigns and mainstream media displayed a staggering indifference to younger voters, writes James Sloam. He highlights how the switch to individual voter registration, the timing of the vote, the exclusion of 16- and 17-year olds and the media circus of exaggerated claim and counter-claim all left young people unenthused by the campaign and strongly opposed to the final outcome. Turnout was high – at 72% – in the EU referendum on 23 June. While we digest the results, we might want to consider those who will be most affected by this decision – younger citizens. In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, young people have borne the brunt of austerity in public spending – from the trebling of university tuition fees to £9,000 and the scrapping of the Education Maintenance Allowance, to the large reductions in funding for youth services in local communities.
Third, the Remain camp lacked ideology and passion. The UK’s EU referendum 2016 explained. Constitution Unit analysis on consequences of Brexit. The UK has voted to leave the EU. Although the polls were close, many were not expecting this result. In thinking through the consequences, a series of recent outputs from the Constitution Unit provide essential information to inform debate. The Unit has held a series of events on the constitutional consequences of a Brexit vote. Briefing papers, and summary videos, are available on each of the following topics: Impact on Whitehall and Westminster, including whether Whitehall can cope with the negotiations, and how parliament will want to oversee them.Impact on territorial politics in the UK, including possibility of a second Scottish independence referendum and risks to the Northern Ireland peace process.
Links to all of these can be found here. Our blog includes posts on all of the following: All of our EU-related blog posts can be found here. Further outputs on quality of the referendum process, and the need for a review: The EU Referendum – Announced! There will undoubtedly be huge amounts of coverage regarding the EU referendum now it has been announced and students should be able to see the importance and relevance of this, both nationally and in terms of their course. However following the announcement last Saturday, there are a few keys points for students to apply this to their course: 1.
Sovereignty – “It is recognised that the United Kingdom… is not committed to further political integration into the European Union.” This was the deal that Cameron got on this issue and while no further integration is a start for many Tories it is not enough! Great stuff for Unit 2 Parties. 2. The Conservative Party – with Michael Gove, Iain Duncan Smith and Boris Johnson plus more than 110 other Tories all campaigning to leave, the Tory Party is well and truly split. 3. 4. 5. Like this: Like Loading... The UK's EU referendum: Everything you need to know.
Here is an easy-to-understand guide to Brexit - beginning with the basics, then a look at the negotiations, followed by a selection of answers to questions we've been sent. What's happening now? The UK has voted to leave the European Union. It is scheduled to depart at 11pm UK time on Friday 29 March, 2019. The UK and EU have provisionally agreed on the three "divorce" issues of how much the UK owes the EU, what happens to the Northern Ireland border and what happens to UK citizens living elsewhere in the EU and EU citizens living in the UK. Talks are now moving on to future relations - after agreement was reached on a 21-month "transition" period to smooth the way to post-Brexit relations. What is the 'transition' period? It refers to a period of time after 29 March, 2019, to 31 December, 2020, to get everything in place and allow businesses and others to prepare for the moment when the new post-Brexit rules between the UK and the EU begin.
No. So is Brexit definitely happening? Yes. Yes. All you need to know about the EU Ref. The EU Referendum – an overview A very useful and concise read covering what the referendum seeks to do, what Cameron (who doesn’t really want a ref) is seeking from his current negotiations with other EU leaders, and some evaluation and further links into the two sides that are now getting more vocal in what is bound to be a huge issue going forward. For the course this is a winner on many levels: Pressure Groups (they’re off already!) , Political Parties (it isn’t just the Tories who are divided), Prime Minister & Cabinet (so we have a leader who doesn’t want it – but is offering it and has allowed a free vote to his ministers in an attempt to limit party & cabinet divisions. … What’s the government’s working majority again?!) , Parliament (if this doesn’t occupy more of its time then I don’t know what will).
Like this: Like Loading... Q&A: What Britain wants from Europe - BBC News. David Cameron says he has a mandate to pursue EU reform following the Conservatives' general election victory. The PM, who will be hoping his majority government will give him extra leverage in Brussels, wants to renegotiate the terms of the UK's membership ahead of a referendum by the end of 2017. He has said he will campaign for Britain to remain in the EU if he gets the reforms he wants.
Read more: What we know so far about UK's in-out referendum What is Britain looking for? Mr Cameron has said he does not want to reveal full details of his negotiating hand but he has given a broad indication, in a series of speeches and newspaper articles, of his priorities when he goes into talks with other EU leaders.
These are: What else does Mr Cameron want? The prime minister has said Britain would resist any move towards a European Army and that he wants to free British police forces from EU interference. When will the referendum be held? What will the question be? What about freedom of movement? David Cameron set to go to referendum without EU ratifying treaty changes | P... David Cameron is to hold a referendum on Britain’s EU membership without a guarantee that the EU’s other 27 member states will have ratified his proposed reforms by the time of the vote, British officials have acknowledged.
Labour and Ukip accused the prime minister of planning to offer the British people a “post-dated cheque”, after UK officials confirmed in Brussels that the referendum will be held before his proposed EU treaty change has been fully ratified. The row broke out at the EU summit in Brussels shortly before Cameron briefly outlined his reform plans for the first time in the formal setting of an EU summit. One EU diplomat described the prime minister’s intervention as “a commercial break”. The diplomat said: “There was a very emotional discussion on migration, and David Cameron gave us a commercial break.”
The prime minister’s intervention lasted between eight and 10 minutes, and there were no responses from any of the other 27 EU heads of government. EU referendum: 'Significant' changes to rules for vote - BBC News. Image copyright Thinkstock Rules on campaigning in the UK's in-out EU referendum are to face "significant" changes, the government is to announce. The changes will focus on rules which stop ministers using public money and making announcements to campaign for one side from 28 days before a vote. The government had wanted to suspend these laws so ministers could continue to discuss European matters in public. But the government is expected to keep the restrictions with "exceptions" after pressure from Eurosceptic MPs.
Eurosceptic MPs have argued that by relaxing the so-called purdah rules, the pro-EU camp could potentially benefit from the "machinery of government". The Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 sets out a 28-day period ahead of any referendum, during which ministers, government departments and local authorities are banned from publishing material relating to the issue in question. 'Shadow of doubt' Image copyright PA 'Seen to be fair' "It has got to be fair. EU referendum: Facts on the UK's planned in-out vote - BBC News.