11 - Conclusion: The New Politics of Brexitland

Summary

The concluding chapter focuses on two questions. The first is whether Britain is unique in its identity conflicts. While no other EU member state looks likely to repeat Britain’s EU exit adventure in the near future, the demographic trends driving the emergence of identity conflicts – educational expansion and rising diversity through globalisation and mass migration – are common to most wealthier democracies. The effects of these changes are being felt everywhere – educational and ethnic divides are becoming stronger predictors of political choices in many countries, with ethnocentric ‘us against them’ conflicts over issues such as immigration, national identity, diversity pitting identity conservative white school leavers against identity liberal graduates and ethnic minorities. In the United States, which like the UK uses a first-past-the-post electoral system, similar identity divides have reinforced and deepened longstanding party divisions on race and identity. The second question is what impact identity politics can have outside party and electoral politics. Many policies involve decisions about the distribution of resources between groups, and as such public views of such policies may be radically changed by the mobilisation of identity conflicts. We discuss welfare, equal opportunity and immigration policies to illustrate this disruptive potential.