Tribal Politics: How Brexit Divided Britain

Bys: Hobolt, Sara B. and Tilley, James

The Brexit referendum was a pivotal moment in British politics. Tribal Politics argues this is not only because it led to the UK's departure from the European Union, but because it created two new, powerful, and enduring political identities in the UK: Leavers and Remainers. These new identities rapidly became central to how people saw themselves, others, and the world around them, and they continue to underpin British politics.

Tribal Politics explores how these identities emerged and why they have proved so resilient in the years since the 2016 vote. It does so by considering the Brexit divide as the result of three contingent factors: issue contestation (intense, high-stakes public conflict), issue expression (individual commitment through voting and political engagement), and issue alignment (the way Brexit cut across traditional party lines). This context transformed a policy question to which most people were largely indifferent into a deep-seated identity divide.

Drawing on political psychology and a wide range of original evidence - including surveys, experiments, and analysis of political discourse - Sara B. Hobolt and James Tilley examine the far-reaching consequences of tribal politics for political attitudes and choices. They consider the impact on how we respond to and treat those in another tribe as well as on the way our views of reality, our policy opinions, and even our perceptions of democratic legitimacy to fit our tribal loyalties.

While grounded in the Brexit experience, Tribal Politics speaks to the origins, and consequences, of all types of identity-driven affective polarization. As many democracies around the world confront deepening political divides, it offers timely insights into how one political moment can spark lasting tribalism and why those tribes so often survive long after that moment has passed.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0198911718
• ISBN13: 9780198911715
• Release Date: June 2026
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.22 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.5" x 9.3"