An analysis of the anti-immigration discourse during the official 2016 Brexit referendum campaign

Abstract

During the 2016 UK referendum on EU membership, most political and media actors highly debated the issue of the regulation of European immigration in the United Kingdom. The political salience of this issue led to attitudinal changes in public opinion regarding the European Union and its institutions. Brexiteers shaped the discourse on European immigration to influence how people chose to vote in the EU referendum. Their anti-immigration discourse had indeed a significant role in shaping beliefs among the public and, hence, in voters’ support for Brexit vote. This paper will assess the role of the Leavers’ rhetorical strategy, which consisted in portraying European immigrants as a threat to the British national community. Using official government speeches, parliamentary debates, press conferences, election manifestos, media interviews, social media and newspaper articles, the following paper will aim to highlight the discursive strategies of the prominent campaigners participating in the referendum debate. Analysing the hostile immigration stance through Critical Discourse Analysis, this article will examine how the Leavers’ anti-immigration discourse mobilised Welfare nationalistic values and beliefs to legitimise the referendum’s outcome.