Labour and the Interplay of Brexit and Electoral Politics

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article analyses the interplay of Brexit as an issue per se and as a game of electoral politics between Labour and the Conservatives, from the time of the 2016 EU referendum to the December 2019 election. It seeks to provide a nuanced and multidimensional understanding of Labour’s strategic choices in relation to Brexit which goes beyond one-dimensional accounts of Jeremy Corbyn’s failure of leadership. This is achieved through a game theory approach whereby the game of electoral politics is conceived of as ‘nested’ inside the Brexit game in a way which makes the two arenas interdependent, also taking into account the level of intra-party politics and the tensions within Labour itself. Thus the first section of the article unpicks the strategic dilemmas Labour was facing, while the second section examines Labour’s ambivalent response to these challenges. The final section explores the dynamic balance of contradictory forces at play, tracking the evolution of Labour’s position in the electoral game from 2016 to 2019 through an analysis of the main strengths and weaknesses of the party at various points during the period.