THIS YEAR’S REFERENDUM campaign has been marked by insults, accusations and counter-accusations.
Spearheaded by the right-wing dominated leave campaign, immigration has become the central focus, with the opposing side becoming known as ‘operation fear’ versus ‘operation bigotry’.
Yet, any old footage from the UK 1975 referendum on EEC membership reveals debates examining potential economic, political, social and cultural implications for entry into the common-market.
Drab, wooden BBC studios showed debates that laid out well-argued positions, save for the occasional outburst by Enoch Powell.
These have been replaced by new media driven soundbites where such outbursts have become the norm.
In short, content has been replaced by sensationalism.
The debate has changed
There are many reasons why this sensationalism and negativity has replaced rational debate in 40 years.
There has been the obvious change in the way media and politics is presented amidst the technological and digital revolution. There has been a transformation in the delivery of politics into its contemporary form of spin, 24-hour broadcasting and the constantly updated web activity.
The second reason for the change can be attributed to Britain’s own unique way of dealing with EU membership.
Since their entry, the EU has always been understood as a negative necessity and one that politicians gain brownie points for attacking or winning battles against.
Indeed, even Jim Hacker in the fictional ‘Yes Minister’ saw a popular attack on standardising the ‘Euro sausage’ against its British equivalent as the way of winning support for his ascension to 10 Downing Street.
There is a great deal in this explanation and this can certainly go some way towards understanding the negativity behind the current referendum debates. In short, if there is a problem in some way with the British political system, blaming the EU has become a common way of getting out of a cul-de-sac for several governments.
Disillusionment
However there is a deeper reason and one that is not just restricted to Britain. There is a growing cynicism with the political class that has been brought about by a decade of austerity.
This has been coupled with a disillusionment in general society that has gradually occurred as a result of the wider process of globalisation. The failure of all governments to adequately keep up with the speed and volatility of global markets, economic production and technological change has led to a new form of protest politics.
In the era of austerity it has been the emergence of Occupy, of anti-austerity demonstrations across southern Europe and, closer to home, of water charge protests that have arrived on top of a succession of extra charges and cuts that have been popular.
Politically the growth of far right parties can be attributed to their representing this disillusionment. Despite the emergence of the Irish branch of Pegida, Ireland has escaped this development. In Britain however, which had traditionally prided itself with a lack of a far right party, Pandora’s Box has been opened.
The breakthrough of the BNP in 2001 has seen a whole collection of far-right parties from the aggression of the EDF to the ‘little Englander’ mentality of UKIP. Boris Johnson and Michael Gove have taken this to the mainstream, with an anti-immigration campaign that has come straight from the 1930s.
Distorted reality
Untruths, half-truths and blatant bigotry, backed up by a popular press have led – as a report has recently shown – to an understanding of the EU that is totally distorted from reality.
In response, the Remain Campaign has been on the defensive, without seemingly taking much of an interest in correcting such falsities. Instead they are making threats of a post-Brexit doomsday.
The EU referendum in theory presented an opportunity for citizens to debate a possible future for the EU, or look at a change to the international order. Instead it has debated an increasingly narrow agenda that has set a very dangerous precedent through its preoccupation on immigration.
The accusations and claims from its chief protagonists have ensured that it has descended into a modern-day farce, carefully stage-managed through the forces of new media.
Yet whatever happens to the political parties which have been torn apart by the referendum, the long-term effect might be more damaging. The Pandora’s Box that has been opened to unleash a set of reactionary movements and assumptions have now been seemingly accepted into the mainstream. These are indeed worrying times.
Dr Owen Worth is Senior Lecturer in International Relations at the University of Limerick.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say