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The Brexit Religion and the Holy Grail of the NHS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 January 2021

Steven Kettell  and
Peter Kerr
Steven Kettell
Affiliation:
Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Warwick, UK E-mail: s.kettell@warwick.ac.uk
Peter Kerr
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science and International Studies, University of Birmingham, UK E-mail: p.kerr@bham.ac.uk
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Abstract

The role of populism in mobilising support for Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union has been well noted. But a key feature of populist politics – the use of religious discourses – has been largely overlooked. This article addresses this gap by exploring the way in which the Leave campaign framed Brexit in quasi-religious and mythological terms. Three core themes are identified: (1) that the British ‘people’ had a unique role to play in global affairs; (2) that the sanctity of this special status was threatened by elites and migrants; (3) that the referendum gave voice to the sacred ‘will of the people’. These narratives were underpinned by a strategic discourse centring on claims that EU membership was exacerbating a crisis in health and social care. This myth was encapsulated by the so-called ‘Brexit bus’ campaign.

Keywords

Populismpolitical mythsocial policyBrexitNHS
Type
Themed Section: Populism, Religion and Social Policy
Information
Social Policy and Society , Volume 20 , Issue 2 , April 2021 , pp. 282 - 295
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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