Populism and Brexit

Abstract

This chapter explores the relationship between populism and the 2016 Brexit vote that resulted in the UK’s projected withdrawal from the European Union. It argues that the Brexit vote was the expression of an intense ‘anti-politics’ sentiment among significant parts of the UK electorate that itself reflects a rejection of the centralising tendencies of successive British governments. It also emphasises that the irony of the Brexit decision is that, in response, the current UK government has sought to re-centralise power, rather than de-centralising it, as many Brexit supporters would have preferred, so, in all probability, further alienating citizens and threatening UK democracy.