The British EU Referendum and its Social and Political Impact

The paper analyzes the UK-EU referendum 2016 and its impact on British social and political life. Britain traditionally has approached the project of European integration in a distinct manner. Despite its more than four-decade-long participation in the 'European project', the necessity of continuing membership and its format have been under constant evaluation. British Euroscepticism manifests itself on multiple levels: grassroots, party-based and the level of policy outcomes. The referendum of 2016 is a result of various ongoing political processes, such as transformation of two-party political system, the rise of populism and the changing role of direct democracy in decision-making. The paper addresses social and political determinants of attitudes towards the EU in historical provinces of the UK as well as among its regions. The referendum and its results revealed deep social, political and geographical cleavages which deeply affect the British political landscape. British parties face the task of overcoming the internal crises caused by the referendum and suggesting new strategies of British-EU relations in the non-membership format. Since Brexit concerns fundamental interests of different groups, including regional parties and various organizations, which played a significant part in the pre-referendum debates, these actors demand that their interests are considered and represented in the upcoming UK-EU relations negotiations.