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IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE BREXIT VOTE Jessica E. Buddi A thesis submitted to the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Political Science, Concentration Transatlantic Studies. Chapel Hill 2017 Approved by: Gary Marks John Stephens Robert Jenkins © 2017 Jessica E. Buddi ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT Jessica E. Buddi: In the Aftermath of the BREXIT Vote (Under the direction of Gary Marks) The British referendum of 2016 resulted in an unprecedented and marked rise in power that Euroscepticism has had across the European Union (EU). Within the United Kingdom (UK), limited information has yet to be fully studied with the intent of understanding the myriad reasons that shaped voting behavior in the recent referendum. Analysis of interview data and application of the three dominant Eurosceptic models: utilitarian, cue-taking, and identity, yields insights into the broader referendum result. Support for UK membership in the EU was particularly common among participants with utilitarian interests, based in part on these voters’ economic relationships buttressed against their knowledge of international politics, and cue- taking behavior. Voting behavior that aligned with leaving the EU was also associated with cue- taking arguments, and a strong British identity. These conclusions help to inform the academic community by illuminating the nature of the arguments surrounding disenfranchised British voters prior to the referendum. iii To the three pillars of my life: my husband, my parents, my family; without you I would be lost. To my husband, Hunter, I couldn’t have done this without you. Thank you my darling for all your support along the way. Dad, I appreciate you for rescuing me in so many ways. Had you not set me on the right path, I would not be where I am today. Aunt Joan, you are among the most inspirational women in my life. Thank you for being an eye and an ear during the hardest moments in my life. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my appreciation to my advisory committee, Dr. Gary Marks, Dr. Robert Jenkins and Dr. John Stephens. A special thanks to Gary Marks, thank you for giving me your time and patience, it has been an honor to work with you. Thank you to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the faculty and staff of the Transatlantic Masters Program who are dedicated to innovative thinking and academic excellence. Also, thanks to my classmates whose diversity, work ethic and sense of humor have made TAM a treasured experience. Finally, thank you to the people who volunteered to take part in my research, without you this study would have, literally, not been possible. v TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................... viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ...................................................................................................... ix INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 1 BACKGROUND .............................................................................................................................2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE ........................................................................................................ 4 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK .................................................................................................. 4 METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................................ 7 Data Collection .................................................................................................................. 8 Analysis and Coding .......................................................................................................... 9 RESULTS ...................................................................................................................................... 9 The Vote ............................................................................................................................. 9 DISCUSSION .............................................................................................................................. 12 Voting for BREXIT ......................................................................................................... 12 I voted ‘Remain’ .............................................................................................................. 19 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................ 28 APPENDIX I: INTERVIEW PROTOCOL ..................................................................................33 APPENDIX II: INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS .......................................................................... 36 Respondent 1 .................................................................................................................... 36 Respondent 2 .....................................................................................................................46 Respondent 3 .................................................................................................................... 57 vi Respondent 4 .................................................................................................................... 71 Respondent 5 .................................................................................................................... 80 Respondent 6 .................................................................................................................... 88 Respondent 7 ...................................................................................................................102 Respondent 8 ...................................................................................................................118 Respondent 9 ...................................................................................................................130 Respondent 10 .................................................................................................................139 REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................... 161 vii LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Main reasons for Remain and Leave vote ..................................................................... 10 viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS BBC British Broadcasting Corporation BNP British National Party BREXIT British Exit EU European Union MSN Microsoft Network MBA Master of Business Administration NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization NHS British National Health Service PM Prime Minister SNP Scottish National Party UN United Nations US United States UK United Kingdom UKIP United Kingdom Independence Party ix INTRODUCTION The result of the 2016 British European Union (EU) referendum vote came as a shock to British society and the rest of the world. The result of the referendum prompted the resignation of Prime Minister (PM) David Cameron and nearly imploded the ruling Conservative coalition government. Virtually every one of voting age were eligible to participate, yielding 71.8 percent turnout, or more than 30 million votes cast. The result of the referendum was to ‘Leave’ the EU with 52 percent voting in favor of BREXIT, as it came to be known, and 48 percent voting to remain a part of the EU. Younger voters, especially those of the millennial generation, voted overwhelmingly for the UK to “Remain” in the EU. Correspondingly, the largest expression of shock over the results came from this younger group of British voters whose lives would be most affected over their lifetimes by an exit from the EU. The referendum that informed the fate of the United Kingdom’s continued membership in the European Union revealed a British society that was divided across geography, socioeconomic status, and generational affiliation on issues concerning EU membership and immigration. The academic literature on the outcome of the BREXIT vote is limited and varied across a breadth of reasons for understanding voting behavior. As a step toward better elucidating voting behavior of British citizens during the 2016 EU referendum, this research focuses the investigation on forces that shaped voters’ decision, including their background, information sources, and understanding of key BREXIT issues. To identify the key influences of voters’ choices in regard to the referendum, data was collected through open-ended questioning in one- on-one interviews with British nationals qualified to vote in the BREXIT referendum. 1 This paper proceeds accordingly. The first section discusses the background of the EU referendum in the UK as it aligns with the rise in support for UKIP, and their vehement opposition to Britain’s membership in the European Union. Next, an overview of the current literature on the British EU referendum reveals that research on the outcome of the BREXIT vote is limited in number and focus. The conceptual framework that follows consists of the three dominant Eurosceptic models: utilitarian, cue-taking, and identity. These models are used as a guide in assessing participants’ motivations for exhibiting their chosen voting behavior on the 23rd of June 2016. Thereafter, subsequent sections in this paper use an inductive approach to understand the

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