UK constitutionalism as a contributory factor in generating Brexit? To explain in detail the causes of the UK’s decision to exit the EU is clearly a task which extends well beyond constitutional analysis. It is also a task which will take time, although there has already been much debate as to the initial indications. Clearly significant was the fact that the commitment to freedom of movement required by EU membership clashed with concern about immigration levels which were cynically, even viciously, exploited by some prominent leave campaigners. Electoral demographics obviously had an important impact, particularly the enhanced engagement of older votes, as did the failure of the then Prime Minister David Cameron to bring his party with him on a remain vote. Yet in addition to these diverse contributing factors we have reason to question whether there was a constitutional element to the result of the Brexit referendum. Was the nature of UK constitutionalism itself a factor? As the campaign developed, it was notable that constitutional themes and ideas seemed to resonate in the political and public discourse to a greater extent than might have been expected, notwithstanding the fact that whether the UK should have retained its membership of the EU is obviously a ‘constitutional’ question with ‘constitutional’ implications. This does not, of course, mean that constitutional considerations dominated the debate. Yet as seemingly well-established strategies for electoral success – most notably the ‘it’s the economy, stupid’ approach – failed ultimately to persuade a majority of the electorate to maintain the status quo, the leave campaign’s pseudo-constitutionalist call to ‘take back control’ was effective in capturing and combining a range of issues. If we look beyond the superficiality of this message, we may discern a number of constitutional dynamics potentially at work in the Brexit vote. The constitutional underpinnings of the referendum result – or of the long-cultivated eurosceptic environment in which the decision to exit the EU was reached – may include, among others, a discomfort with the ‘eurolegalism’ which has arguably come to define the European project, and the resulting changes in domestic law and practice which such a supranational philosophy prompts.
UK constitutionalism as a contributory factor in generating Brexit? To explain in detail the causes of the UK’s decision to exit the EU is clearly a task which extends well beyond constitutional analysis. It is also a task which will take time, although there has already been much debate as to the initial indications. Clearly significant was the fact that the commitment to freedom of movement required by EU membership clashed with concern about immigration levels which were cynically, even viciously, exploited by some prominent leave campaigners. Electoral demographics obviously had an important impact, particularly the enhanced engagement of older votes, as did the failure of the then Prime Minister David Cameron to bring his party with him on a remain vote. Yet in addition to these diverse contributing factors we have reason to question whether there was a constitutional element to the result of the Brexit referendum. Was the nature of UK constitutionalism itself a factor? As the campaign developed, it was notable that constitutional themes and ideas seemed to resonate in the political and public discourse to a greater extent than might have been expected, notwithstanding the fact that whether the UK should have retained its membership of the EU is obviously a ‘constitutional’ question with ‘constitutional’ implications. This does not, of course, mean that constitutional considerations dominated the debate. Yet as seemingly well-established strategies for electoral success – most notably the ‘it’s the economy, stupid’ approach – failed ultimately to persuade a majority of the electorate to maintain the status quo, the leave campaign’s pseudo-constitutionalist call to ‘take back control’ was effective in capturing and combining a range of issues. If we look beyond the superficiality of this message, we may discern a number of constitutional dynamics potentially at work in the Brexit vote. The constitutional underpinnings of the referendum result – or of the long-cultivated eurosceptic environment in which the decision to exit the EU was reached – may include, among others, a discomfort with the ‘eurolegalism’ which has arguably come to define the European project, and the resulting changes in domestic law and practice which such a supranational philosophy prompts.
Gordon%20EU%20Const%20Brexit%20paper%20Sept%202016%20-%20accepted%20final%20version%20w%20abstract.docx