The Road to Brexit

Abstract

The chapter follows the course of events and debate during the referendum and initial negotiations and legislative attempts in Westminster to enable Brexit. The chapter gives an overview of the speech acts and associated stratagems to facilitate or to frustrate Brexit. It includes a number of vignettes presenting some key or insightful moments in the referendum campaign. A key focus of the chapter is analysis of the Leave and Remain campaigns (Vote Leave, Leave.EU and Stronger In) and what became known respectively as ‘projects hate and fear’. The chapter concludes with an inquest into the state of British democracy and how fundamental weaknesses in the body politic enabled Brexit, among which is the emergence of ’post-truth’ politics and the influence of the tabloid media.