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The Brexit Religion and the Holy Grail of the NHS
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Kettell, Steven and Kerr, Peter (2021) The Brexit Religion and the Holy Grail of the NHS. Social Policy and Society, 20 (2). pp. 282-295. doi:10.1017/S1474746420000561 ISSN 1474-7464.
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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1474746420000561
Abstract
The role of populism in mobilising support for Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union has been well noted. But a key feature of populist politics – the use of religious discourses – has been largely overlooked. This article addresses this gap by exploring the way in which the Leave campaign framed Brexit in quasi-religious and mythological terms. Three core themes are identified: (1) that the British ‘people’ had a unique role to play in global affairs; (2) that the sanctity of this special status was threatened by elites and migrants; (3) that the referendum gave voice to the sacred ‘will of the people’. These narratives were underpinned by a strategic discourse centring on claims that EU membership was exacerbating a crisis in health and social care. This myth was encapsulated by the so-called ‘Brexit bus’ campaign.
| Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subjects: | J Political Science > JC Political theory J Political Science > JF Political institutions (General) J Political Science > JN Political institutions (Europe) > JN101 Great Britain R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine |
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| Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Politics and International Studies | ||||||||
| Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Great Britain -- Politics and government -- 2007- , Referendum -- Great Britain, Populism -- Great Britain, Religion and politics -- Great Britain, National health services -- Great Britain, National health services -- Political aspects -- Great Britain | ||||||||
| Journal or Publication Title: | Social Policy and Society | ||||||||
| Publisher: | Cambridge University Press | ||||||||
| ISSN: | 1474-7464 | ||||||||
| Official Date: | April 2021 | ||||||||
| Dates: |
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| Volume: | 20 | ||||||||
| Number: | 2 | ||||||||
| Page Range: | pp. 282-295 | ||||||||
| DOI: | 10.1017/S1474746420000561 | ||||||||
| Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||||
| Publication Status: | Published | ||||||||
| Reuse Statement (publisher, data, author rights): | This article has been accepted for publication in a revised form for publication in Social Policy and Society. Link to Journal’s site on https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/social-policy-and-society | ||||||||
| Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access | ||||||||
| Copyright Holders: | © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press | ||||||||
| Date of first compliant deposit: | 1 July 2020 | ||||||||
| Date of first compliant Open Access: | 2 July 2020 | ||||||||
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