Program Success 3 Summer 2016
Explainer : How a Racist , Anti-Immigrant Campaign Caused ‘ Brexit ’
While some pundits will say it was about economics or nationalism , the United Kingdom ’ s vote to leave the European Union had a lot more to do with racist feelings toward immigrants than anything else .
3 . Was anyone surprised ? Pundits in Great Britain are shocked this morning , in part for the same reasons that American pundits are surprised by Donald Trump . They have little or no contact with regular people . Anyone outside of the Beltway in Washington , D . C ., or New York City knows full well that there are thousands of ignorant , racist Americans who love Trump ’ s rhetoric and don ’ t care about how his policies make no sense or are outright dangerous . Similarly , there are millions of Brits who hate immigrants and fear losing national identity to Europe and who would surely welcome disastrous policy if it returned them to a sense of independence .
Explainer : How a Racist , Anti Immigrant Campaign Caused Brexit Jason Johnson Daytona Beach , Florida August 2016
A “ Vote to leave ” campaigner holds a placard on May 25 , 2016 , in Bolton , England . CHRISTOPHER FURLONG / GETTY IMAGES
By : Jason Johnson
The last month have been a whirlwind of news in the United States - Supreme Court rulings , the Freddie Gray case and the Democrats ’ House of Representatives sit-in for starters . Across the pond , however , there was a vote that not only is horribly instructive for what could happen in America this fall but , worse , could also have a ripple effect on the global economy that could throw the U . S . elections into chaos . Welcome to the post-Brexit world , America .
1 . What is Brexit ? “ Brexit ” is shorthand for the British referendum vote to leave the European Union . Europe has various layers of leadership and economic alliance , mostly under the umbrella of the EU . The two most powerful members of the EU economically are England and Germany . Last night 51 percent of British voters chose to get out of the union .
2 . Why did it happen ? The European Union is seen by many British voters as an outside authority dictating local business , economic decisions and government . Even though every EU nation has representation as a member of the union , EU members have to abide by laws imposed by the larger body ( for example , food standards and health care standards ).
Further , those who were in favor of leaving the EU argued that the U . K . put more into the union in taxes and resources than the U . K . got out in terms of jobs , commerce and access to markets . This was up for some debate , with many economists arguing that leaving the EU would actually harm U . K . voters far worse than the slow drip of propping up the overall union .
The biggest issue driving the Brexit vote , however , was not sovereignty and was not directly tied to economics . It was about immigration . EU members are required to allow relatively open immigration of citizens from one nation to the next , and this was exacerbated by the Syrian refugee crisis . In the U . K ., the openly racist anti-immigration U . K . Independence Party , led by Nigel Farage , turned the Brexit vote into a referendum on keeping black , brown and Muslim people away from the rest of Europe . Using openly racist ads and rhetoric , he managed to push the vote in favor of getting out of the EU .
The vote was always dipping slightly in favor of leaving the European Union , and then the “ remain ” vote got a slight bump after British Labour MP Jo Cox , who was in favor of staying in the EU , was killed by a pro-Brexit activist . However , by all accounts the vote was always going to be close and was trending toward leaving the EU . The non-British , minority and Central European immigrants living in England right now are not shocked , since they were taking the brunt of the anti-immigrant rhetoric ever since the Conservative Party took over in 2015 .
4 . What about U . K . leaders ? This vote has huge consequences for U . K . leadership and the collective identity of the United Kingdom . It is highly likely that the U . K . as we know it will not exist sometime in the near future . Conservative Party leader Prime Minister David Cameron , and opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn , will likely lose their leadership positions in the coming months . Cameron has already said that he will step down . Their inability to keep the U . K . in the European Union is a tremendous failure of internal diplomacy , and their own parties are in revolt . If the crisis in leadership is intense enough , it may trigger a new parliamentary election in the U . K . in the next year .
Last year Scotland had a referendum on whether or not to stay within the United Kingdom and just barely decided to remain . However , with the Brexit vote , it is likely that Scotland will again hold a vote on independence because Scottish voters wanted to stay in the EU , while the slim majority of British voters did not . In the meantime , this has tanked the economy , stock markets are shaken and the long-term consequences for this vote will be trickling down in the next several weeks .
5 . What about the U . S .? The first “ hot take ” is to look at the British Brexit vote — a racist , antiimmigrant , anti-Muslim campaign masquerading as an economic referendum — as a corollary to what is happening in the United States with the Trump campaign . Yes and no . First , the entire minority population of England is less than 15 percent , and over half of those people are located in and around the metropolitan London area . Plus , it was a referendum , a pure popular-majority vote . The United States has over 28 percent nonwhite voters ; they make up a larger portion of the voting population than minorities in the U . K . do . Lastly , our electoral college system gives minority-rich states like Florida , Virginia , New York and California much more of a say in our general elections than the parliamentary or referendum system in the U . K . does .
However , the vote is relevant to the U . S . in two key ways . First , Brexit will harm the economy , which means that Trump , who regularly polls better than Hillary Clinton on economic issues , may get a boost . Second , it is instructive that the Brexit vote had relatively low turnout , which ended up favoring the voters who were angrier and more intensely wanted change . That ’ s a lesson that could be applicable to the U . S . presidential election this fall .
Jason Johnson , political editor at The Root , is a professor of political science at Hiram College in Ohio and an analyst for CNN , MSNBC ,
Al-Jazeera and Fox Business News . Follow him on Twitter .
Program Success 3 Summer 2016