Introduction
Was the main personal political driver of residents of the United Kingdom (UK) voting for Brexit a genuine intention not inspired by the British Conservatives, or was leaving the European Union (EU) a successful right-wing migrant fearmongering to gain political power? Brexit remains a major international event for the UK, as it has significantly changed the mechanisms of their economic and political interaction with the EU, a coalition of countries with which the UK has historically been closest. The decision to leave the EU or not was entrusted to UK subjects via a referendum which created an environment in British domestic politics sensitive to liberal and conservative populism for a moment. As one can see from the country’s current international status, right-wing Euro-sceptics’ efforts to persuade the UK population have been more successful than those of the Euro-centrists. Their main tactic was migration fearmongering, and this paper explores how the misrepresentation of migrants and the use of stereotypes associated with them by the right-wing political forces of the UK ensured their victory in Brexit.
Mass Fear of Migrants as a Driver for Brexit
Many different factors led to the exit of the UK from the EU. Among the most influential were the eurozone debt crisis in the early 10s and the prevalence of EU law over the British one. Amadeo (2022) argues that “the eurozone debt crisis was the world’s greatest threat in 2011, and in 2012, things only got worse” (para. 1). Simply put, the British were annoyed with their taxes going to support countries that could not meet EU financial standards and failed their economic development policies, such as Greece. Moreover, a significant part of the ordinary Britons and political elites felt the lack of sovereignty under the EU jurisdiction that was higher than British law. These attitudes could be found in liberals as well as conservatives.
Many Britons were specifically motivated to vote for Brexit by the hope that by leaving the EU, the country would change its approach to migration policy. According to Mehta (2019), “It was fear of migrants, principally, that led the British to vote for Brexit” (para. 6). Interestingly, “a YouGov poll in the days before Brexit found that 56% of Britons named “immigration and asylum” as the biggest issue facing the country” (Mehta, 2019, para. 6). The Brexit referendum was a time just after the 2015 European migrant crisis, during which the EU’s leading actors such as France, Germany, and the UK too, failed initially in accepting and integrating Syrian refugees into their societies. Ineffective migration policies have led to numerous social tensions and even terrorist attacks, with casualties among both Europeans and migrants. Conservatives and right-wingers from the elites and the media have played on the whole situation by intentionally portraying migrants negatively as a source of current socio-economic problems and have successfully achieved Brexit and gained space for political action.
False Portrayal of Migrants, Religion and Nationality
The question is what tactics the influential right-wing Britons have taken during Brexit and continue to use to misrepresent migrants in the UK. One of their most frequent claims is that the migrants then and now are predominantly non-white people of African or Middle Eastern origin, mostly Muslims. A striking example of this is the infamous “Breaking Point” poster of Nigel Farage with Syrian refugees (Favell, 2020, p. 105). By their logic, migrants are representatives of drastically different religions and cultures and, therefore, cannot integrate into British society, posing a danger to natives. The truth would most likely reassure and even delight right-wingers and conservatives.
Sociological research shows that these racist statements in Brexit and now were and are deliberately false. According to Fajth (2022), Pakistanis and Nigerians are the only ones who can be considered Muslims in the top 10 migrant populations by nationality in the UK. Hindus are the percentage national majority of people emigrating to the British Isle (Fajth, 2022). The rest of the top 10 consists of either Western and Eastern European countries or non-Muslim ones. Moreover, “Poland is still the top country of citizenship of foreign citizens (696,000), accounting for 12% of non-UK citizens living in the UK” (Fajth, 2022, para. 11). The deliberate negative portrayal and criminalization of migrants to gain political influence by British right-wingers and some conservatives is visible.
Another question is why these two groups of UK policymakers emphasize the Muslim religious affiliation of migrants and their non-whiteness in their rhetoric. The reason is the fact that both in 2016 and nowadays, the British are incredibly biased toward representatives of this faith. Hamill-Stewart (2022) argues that “roughly one in four Britons hold negative views of Muslims and Islam — the highest of any group apart from gypsies and Irish travelers” (para. 2). Right-leaning politicians are simply playing on the ignorance and bias of the British people to gain their votes and allegiance.
False Portrayal of Migrants, Jobs, and Wages
Migrants stealing jobs from natives is another often-heard claim by radical conservative UK political figures. They also like to add that newcomers to the island are driving wages down. It is a misrepresentative technique for social scapegoating, alienation, division, and political power. The truth is that most migrants occupy job positions in the labor market that the natives find either too uninteresting or underpaid (Pledger, 2021). It can be said that migrants’ labor market exists parallel to that of the native Britons, and these do not affect each other in terms of available jobs and sizes of wages.
False Portrayal of Migrants, Criminality
Most migrants being criminals is a rhetorical device aimed at the emotional side of native-born British people. This harmful myth is maintained not only by policymakers but also by ordinary people. While the latter repeat this negative rumor due to their lack of education regarding crime statistics, the former do so to exclude migrants from the political arena. It is crucial to note that this claim is an outright lie and not even a manipulation of sociological statistics (Duffy, 2019). Migrants as politically active actors pose a danger to British right-wingers and conservatives as they may join left-leaning politicians or act independently and gain a share of political power.
Conclusion
This paper analyzes how British right-leaning and conservative politicians have been abusing the topic of migrants for political power during Brexit and today. Their main rhetorical techniques are fearmongering, creating and disseminating harmful myths by exaggerating or distorting sociological data and playing on the ignorance of the native Britons. Liberals and left-leaning policymakers and legislators also abuse the topic of migrants by pandering to them without any real action. One should remember that such politicians and methods of political manipulation are characteristic not only of the UK but also of other countries of the Western hemisphere.
References
Amadeo, K. (2022). Eurozone debt crisis: Causes, cures, and consequences. The Balance. Web.
Duffy, B. (2019). Britons are overwhelmingly swayed by myths about immigration – these are the five facts we often get wrong. Independent. Web.
Fajth, V. (2022). Migrants in the UK: An overview. Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford. Web.
Favell, A. (2020). Crossing the race line: “No polish, no blacks, no dogs” in Brexit Britain? Or, the great British Brexit swindle. In F. Duina & F. Merand (Eds.), Europe’s Malaise: The Long View (pp. 103–130). Emerald Publishing Limited.
Hamill-Stewart, C. (2022). Muslims second ‘least-liked’ group in UK: Survey. Arab News. Web.
Mehta, S. (2019). Immigration panic: How the west fell for manufactured rage. The Guardian. Web.
Pledger, S. (2021). Busting immigration myths: “Immigration is destroying the job market. Immigrants drive down wages and steal jobs from UK workers.” LinkedIn. Web.