Browsing by Subject "Campaign Material"

For the second time in forty-one years, voters of the United Kingdom went to the polls to decide their fate within the European Union. On June 24th, 2016 , citizens decided to vote in favor of leaving the European Union however in 1975 the United Kingdom voted to stay a part of the European Economic Community. Is it possible these two referendums alike? This thesis answers the research question,“How are the 1975 and 2016 United Kingdom referendums compared based upon the ‘vote leave’ campaigns?” By using a 2005 article describing why a country might request a European referendum as a theoretical point of departure and Carol Bacchi’s “What’s the problem represented to be?” as the method, this thesis analyzes campaign material of both referendums. The materials analyzed consist of campaign manifestos, pamphlets, posters, and political cartoons to compare both referendums for similarities and differences. It is shown that in both referendums that they are alike based off of domestic politics, economics and national sovereignty. The 2016 referendum differs in one aspect based on immigration.