Leave voters and political elites moral economies and political culture analysis of the 2016 Brexit referendum

This thesis develops and the application on a novel theoretical approach to the investigation of United Kingdom (UK) leave voter behaviour in the referendum held on 23rd June 2016. The theoretical frameworks of political culture and moral economy will be developed and utilized to analyse voter behaviour and decisions to vote leave of ordinary people and the kinds of political culture fostered to articulate this leave vote by pro-leave political elites. This work revolves around a thematic analysis of publicly published internet online sources related to the Brexit campaign examining how ordinary people in two case study areas of Boston, Lincolnshire and Castle Point, Canvey Island given that these states have highest leave voters in the United Kingdom (UK), and political elite majority from UKIP, values, beliefs and political interests carved out their worldviews and ethical frameworks that shaped their voting in relation to the European Union (EU). The research maps and conceptualize the complexities that played a prominent role in the Brexit vote, not only from the perspectives of ordinary citizenry but also that of key elite political players in the United Kingdom (UK). This thesis will map themes in voter behaviour, explicitly focusing on two areas where contested political cultural and morphing moral economies meet with articulated national identities, economic anxieties, and historical legacies and intersect with the impacts and consequences of neoliberal political economy to shape, give meaning and legitimize leave voting behaviour. This analysis sheds light of the wider implications for democratic processes and political participation and increasing polarization around a racialized nationalism in the United Kingdom (UK).