As we reach the 31st October, the due date for Britain’s departure from the European Union, you might be wondering why 52% of the electorate voted for this in 2016. Immigration, loss of sovereignty, anti-establishment rhetoric… Why did Britain vote to leave the EU?
Immigration was one of the main reasons people voted to leave the EU. Surveys from Ipsos Mori found that two weeks into the campaign immigration had replaced the economy as the single most important factor driving the leave vote. This was largely because in 2010 Prime Minister David Cameron promised to reduce net migration into Britain to below 100,000 – ‘no ifs, no buts’. This however, was not possible with our membership of the EU. Loss of sovereignty was also responsible for the leave vote as people felt that our laws were made in Brussels rather than in our own Parliament. Anti-establishment rhetoric also could have caused the vote as people felt left behind by politicians and the financial industry. Both the Conservative and Labour leadership endorsed remain, but both parties saw many of their members go into opposition on this issue, thus suggesting disengagement with both of these parties. Furthermore, the financial industry strongly backed remain, emphasising the drastic negative effect on the economy leaving the EU would cause. The vote to leave could reflect loss of faith in the financial industry after the financial crash in 2008.
While immigration appears to be one of the main reasons people voted to leave the EU, it was more likely the fear of immigration that caused this than immigration itself. This is because areas with high levels of immigration including London, Cambridge and Reading strongly voted to remain whereas areas with low immigration including Wigan, Sunderland and Blackpool voted to leave. Those in the leave campaign argued that lowering immigration would solve problems such as long waiting times for the NHS and lack of social housing. These problems however, were more likely caused by the coalition’s policy of austerity, which led to the under funding of the NHS and cuts to public services, than immigration. Furthermore, income inequality was highly responsible for the vote. According to analysis by Oxfam, ‘the richest one per cent of the UK population now owns more than 20 times the total wealth of the poorest fifth, making the country one of the most unequal in the developed world’. In areas with higher inequality and poverty, voters were more likely to support leave. This explains the anti-establishment vote as people felt left behind by politicians and the financial industry and believed they could ‘take back control’ as suggested by leading politicians in the leave campaign. Overall, Britain voted to leave the EU not because of immigration itself but because of a fear of immigration as those who campaigned for leave used this as scapegoat for problems faced by many in this country who are just about managing.