Brexit:

rise of Eurosceptic British nationalism and challenges in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Abstract

This article analyses the recent rise of British nationalism that took place in the United Kingdom alongside four key political parties (Britain First, UKIP, Brexit Party and the Conservative Party), all of which drove a Eurosceptic demand that finally led to Brexit. In order to do this, the work is divided into two parts: first, it summarises the two main Eurosceptic arguments: the need to reduce low-skilled immigration and the search for greater economic sovereignty; then, it describes the role and electoral performance of each of the four parties previously mentioned. In the second part, understanding that the result of the referendum ended up evincing and deepening nationalist cleavages inside the United Kingdom, particularly in Scotland and Northern Ireland where the majority of citizens voted in favour of remaining in the European Union, a brief summary of the history of Scottish and Irish nationalisms is done, exhibiting the incidence of Brexit and the pandemic in these. It is concluded that the unease generated by Brexit poses a potential threat to the future integrity of the United Kingdom.