Brexit thus\u00a0normalised and mainstreamed populist discourse,\u00a0which had long remained on the fringes of the public sphere, contributing to an unprecedented dynamic for the far right and a major recomposition in British political life. This is the great irony of this referendum: originally put forward by David Cameron in 2013 when he was prime minister to strengthen his authority over the Conservative Party and stem the rise of UKIP, the referendum had the exact opposite effect.<\/p>\n
Not only did the Leave vote\u00a0precipitate Cameron\u2019s downfall, but, above all, it contributed to major political upheavals characterised by the erosion of the two traditional parties, the overwhelming rise of the far right and the polarisation of public debate around questions of immigration and national identity. The referendum was supposed to appease and unify the country; on the contrary, it deeply destabilised and divided it.<\/p>\n
Bitter tomorrows: the disillusions of Brexit<\/strong><\/p>\n A few hours after the announcement of the results and while euphoria was still strong among the supporters of the \u201cLeave\u201d camp,\u00a0a first interview with Nigel Farage on the ITV Good Morning Britain program\u00a0caused general astonishment. He told the two journalists that the promise to pay the amount of the contribution to the European budget to the budget of the National Health Service (NHS) \u2013 the British public health service \u2013 will \u201cprobably not be delivered\u201d.<\/p>\n By reneging on his campaign\u2019s key promise, Farage was betraying a commitment that weighed heavily in many voters\u2019 decision to vote for the \u201cLeave\u201d camp. The NHS, set up after World War II to ensure that all Britons would have universal access to health care \u201cfrom the cradle to the grave\u201d, is an iconic pillar of the welfare state. However, multiple reforms to make it less expensive and more effective have seriously weakened it and it is now facing many problems, including chronic underfunding, a shortage of staff, or excessively long waiting delays.<\/p>\n Aware of the NHS\u2019s place in the hearts of the British people, the pro-Leave campaigners heavily promoted the argument that, in the event of an exit from the EU, the money previously allocated to the EU budget would be channelled directly into funding the NHS. Boris Johnson criss-crossing the country in his red bus bearing the slogan \u201cWe send the EU \u00a3350 million a week, let\u2019s fund our NHS instead\u201d was one of the campaign\u2019s most emblematic images.<\/p>\n Inevitably, this argument struck a chord with a large section of the British electorate, who were concerned about the decline of such a national institution. Nigel Farage\u2019s sudden U-turn felt like a massive betrayal and highlighted, from the very first hours following the vote,\u00a0the gap between promises and reality.<\/p>\n The other major theme of the pro-Leave campaign was the fight against immigration. On this point, too, the gap between promises and reality led to a deep resentment among voters.<\/p>\n For years, Nigel Farage had been repeating that because of its membership of the European Union, which advocates the principle of open borders and free movement of people, the UK lacked the capacity to control its borders or to prevent mass immigration. A few days before the referendum, Farage unveiled a campaign poster called\u00a0\u2018Breaking Point\u2019\u00a0which showed a crowd of migrants from the Middle East \u2013 exclusively men \u2013 gathered at the Croatian-Serbian border like ready to \u201cinvade\u201d Europe. The caption on the poster read, \u201cThe EU has failed us all.\u201d<\/p>\n Following the outcry caused by the poster, UKIP was forced to remove it immediately. But the argument had a major impact in a country where immigration \u2013 especially from Muslim countries \u2013\u00a0topped British concerns. Farage\u2019s campaign strategy also consisted in presenting the vote for Brexit as an identity and civilisational issue by presenting immigration \u2013 encouraged according to him by the European elites \u2013 as an existential threat to British identity and the nation\u2019s future.<\/p>\n