A cultural geography of Brexit

ABSTRACT

This article examines the cultural geographies of Englishness as they have developed between 1975 and 2016. It describes how, in 40 years, a shift of opinion occurred in the UK. The article takes as its inspiration maps showing the results of the 1975 and 2016 UK Referenda on European membership. In 1975, on a turnout of 64%, more than two-thirds of voters opted to ‘stay’ in the EEC. In 2016, the turnout was higher (72%), but this time the split was 52:48 in favour of leaving the EU. Much of the discussion in the weeks before and after the 2016 vote centred on the question of ‘fear’, but as the article demonstrates, ‘fear’ and ‘anxiety’ are not newcomers to the English cultural landscape.