The answer to the Brexit Paradox is…The EU
This piece contributes to the #NoDust on #Brexit conversation, which is now beginning Month 3. If you’re keen to stop the dust settling after the divisive referendum on the UK’s membership in the EU, join us at Conway Hall on Sep 5 in the evening, for a public gathering that’s not-a-panel, not-a-debate, but an experiment in a new form of civic conversation. Ready to book? Here’s Eventbrite. Need more event info, visit here.
The Leave campaign pulled in 52% of the vote, but who are the leave voters, and what do they have in common? Below is an attempt at segmenting the vote though of course any groupings are by necessity generalizations and many people will not simply fit in one group.
Remain
Remain is at the center. It represents 48% or so of the population all of whom are largely aligned around a single position, staying in the EU, and as such can be considered a considerable block.
The 4 leave segments that in effect “surround” remain are shown above. However, although all 4 may have some common ground in their concerns around UK sovereignty (or perceived lack of within the EU) there is very little else they have in common.
Secure Isolationists
Secure Isolationists are Leave voters with 2 major characteristics, namely a) they are against EU membership as a matter of principle and b) they are shielded, or at least see themselves as shielded, from any economic fallout from Brexit.
Note: “+” means “supports, “-” means “against.
They may be independently wealthy (or at least have a secure income) and/or have no mortgage to pay, and many of them have been firmly anti-EU either since the introduction of the Euro, the signing of the Maastricht treaty or indeed since the 1970s.
They are the ‘Brexit at any cost’ camp because they won’t pay the price
As such, they have little interest in the economic or cultural pros and cons of EU membership, the details of any deal struck with the EU or in how long it will take the UK to recover. They are the “Brexit at any cost” camp, in part because they won’t pay the price, and if asked would be supporters of a rapid “hard” Brexit. This group will be most entrenched in its pro-brexit position and is “drawbridge up” in its mentality. This analysis of a Times article indicates the “no compromise” approach this group favors.
Liberal Leavers
This is a borrowed term from this “3 Tribes of the Referendum” article. Liberal Leavers understand the complexities of leaving the EU and the economic damage a poorly judged Brexit would cause.
In some cases they may even be closet “remainers” who found it politically expedient to support Leave but now regret the win. As such they are looking for a “Norway” style model as an interim compromise until trade deals can be struck with other non-EU countries or, alternatively, they recognize the significant benefits of EU membership and so are looking for a “Norway” approach as a “token” Brexit.
Anti-globalists
“Anti-globalists” are concerned about immigration, wages, pressure on public services, zero hour contract and other insecure jobs. They will generally be against free movement, globalization and free trade insofar as they believe that these issues create uncertainty and insecurity.
In as much as they want protection from the effects of globalization they represent the “drawbridge up” mentality.
They will likely be pro higher taxes for the well off and for companies, pro workers rights, pro public services and would generally like to see more flexible accommodation options through either cheaper housing, reduced rents or more council housing choice.
The leave campaign were able to convince this group that the EU, and specifically Immigration, was a major factor in the above issues, and that leaving the EU would solve them.
The irony however is that although this group represents the largest section of the Leave camp there is no authentic political voice which speaks for them, primarily because they have been sold a “false vision” of a future Britain which, having turned its back on globalization, would then be able to deliver more secure jobs, higher wages and greater housing choice.
Pro-globalists
The next group is likely one of the smallest however conversely it holds much of the power. These “pro-globalists” are concerned about “excessive” regulation of any kind, a lack of world trade deals and general inflexibility which they perceive as being the major downsides of EU membership.
Fundamentally they are free marketeers and so they resent the limitations that EU membership creates around workers rights, new trade deals etc and believe that the market should find its own level in most areas. As such they will likely have little interest in limiting immigration as free movement is just another free market. They will also likely have little interest in housing intervention, believing that people can and should move to areas of cheaper housing rather than relying on state intervention to manage the issue.
Finally as free marketeers they will generally believe in small state and will look for public services to move into the private sector, which they believe will become more efficient over time due to market forces.
Most importantly, they believe in unrestricted free trade with the rest of the world. As such they represent the “smash the drawbridge” mentality as illustrated in this analysis of a pro-globalist article in the Telegraph.
Clearly of course there are other issues around nationalism (which can move into racism) and sovereignty/democracy however I won’t cover these here.
A (simplistic) categorization would say that the official Vote Leave campaign under Johnson began with an appeal to the pro-globalists and liberal leavers, whereas Leave.EU under UKIP and Farage appealed to the anti-globalists and secure isolationists.
Core paradox and why the answer is the EU
The Secure Isolationists want hard brexit immediately and will not be happy in almost any scenario. The Liberal Leavers are trying to find a compromise however in reality although for Remainers a Norway approach is the least worst option it has few benefits and many issues when compared to full EU membership.
Put simply, everything the anti-globalists want to protect or extend the pro-globalists want to dilute or destroy
However, the key issue for the post brexit consensus is the utter divergence in world views between the Anti and Pro globalists. They may find common cause around a perceived impact on UK sovereignty but that aside they have very little in common, put simply everything the anti-globalists want to protect or extend the pro-globalists want to dilute or destroy. In fact, the compromise solution which will satisfy neither but which sits squarely between them, is, ironically, EU membership.
The EU provides a “liberal anchor”
This is primarily because the EU provides a “liberal anchor”. It avoids excessive protectionism and supports a very high degree of free trade (especially in comparison to the rest of the world) whilst at the same time providing a common floor of worker protections, regulations and human rights to reduce the chances of exploitation.
The alternatives are to move further to the left of this anchor which risks the creation of long term stagnation or to the right, which may eventually lead to long term prosperity but will create significant disruption in the short term and will likely see increased insecurity for many in the long term. Perhaps more importantly, the larger Anti-globalist group will feel betrayed as Brexit will not resemble in any way the vision they were sold. In reality, there is no compromise vision that will satisfy all 4 but if we concede that the Secure Isolationists will not accept any compromise then full EU membership represents the most practical solution for the other 3.
They must now try to satisfy 4 conflicting sets of interests, whilst also reaching out to the 48%
This division is the nature of the current paradox facing the Brexit leaders post referendum and the main reason why things are not progressing. Having appealed to the anti-globalists on a platform of immigration they must now try to satisfy 4 conflicting sets of interests, whilst also reaching out to the 48%. And all this has to occur whilst negotiating with 27 other countries who, understandably, are somewhat miffed.
However, although Leave represents 52% of the vote, in reality this represents a loose coalition of 4 disparate groups, each representing no more than 25% of the total population, with opposing views in almost all areas and whose only common ground is that they all voted for an unspecified and deliberately vague Brexit. They will not find a solution that satisfies all of them. The only sane & practical answer is to return to some variation of remain, and the only thing really stopping this is the political difficulty of admitting that the referendum was too simplistic and too vague and therefore fatally flawed.
