Tribal Politics How Brexit Divided Britain

The Brexit referendum was a pivotal moment in British politics. Tribal Politics argues this is not only because it led to the UK's departure from the European Union, but because it created two new, powerful, and enduring political identities in the UK: Leavers and Remainers. These new identities rapidly became central to how people saw themselves, others, and the world around them, and they continue to underpin British politics. Tribal Politics explores how these identities emerged and why they have proved so resilient in the years since the 2016 vote. It does so by considering the Brexit divide as the result of three contingent factors: issue contestation (intense, high-stakes public conflict), issue expression (individual commitment through voting and political engagement), and issue alignment (the way Brexit cut across traditional party lines). This context transformed a policy question to which most people were largely indifferent into a deep-seated identity divide. Drawing on political psychology and a wide range of original evidence - including surveys, experiments, and analysis of political discourse - Sara B. Hobolt and James Tilley examine the far-reaching consequences of tribal politics for political attitudes and choices. They consider the impact on how we respond to and treat those in another tribe as well as on the way our views of reality, our policy opinions, and even our perceptions of democratic legitimacy to fit our tribal loyalties. While grounded in the Brexit experience, Tribal Politics speaks to the origins, and consequences, of all types of identity-driven affective polarization. As many democracies around the world confront deepening political divides, it offers timely insights into how one political moment can spark lasting tribalism and why those tribes so often survive long after that moment has passed.

Sara B. Hobolt is the Sutherland Chair in European Institutions and a Professor in the Department of Government at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). She has previously held positions at the University of Oxford and the University of Michigan. Hobolt's research focuses on European politics, electoral behaviour, and public opinion. She has authored several books, including Political Entrepreneurs: The Rise of Challenger Parties in Europe with Catherine E. De Vries (Princeton University Press, 2020), Blaming Europe? with James Tilley (Oxford University Press, 2014), and Europe in Question: Referendums on European Integration (Oxford University Press, 2009). She is a Fellow of the British Academy. James Tilley is a Professor of Politics at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford. His research focuses on public opinion, electoral behaviour, and British politics. He has authored two books: The New Politics of Class with Geoffrey Evans (Oxford University Press, 2017) and Blaming Europe? with Sara B. Hobolt (Oxford University Press, 2014). As well as his academic research, he regularly writes and presents radio documentaries for BBC Radio 4.