Document Type
Honors Thesis
Abstract
Scholars in recent years have attempted to understand why citizens of the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union in 2016, with many taking interest in the history of Euroscepticism in the country. Previous research on the topic has considered the impacts of geopolitical trends after World War II, Eurosceptical political activity in the 1980s, and longer-term historical attitudes. This paper examines the long history of Brexit to consider these events as a whole instead of as separate parts. As this is a history research project, the primary methodology is an analysis of speeches and primary sources from across the twentieth century, along with secondary sources on the topic. The paper argues that there is a strong history of British attitudes towards Europe playing a part in how the relationship has developed that did seem to play a factor in how current events have unfolded but it is impossible to discount certain political trends such as rises in populism and nationalism that do not have clear connection to historical attitudes.
Disciplines
European History | Political History
Publication Date
Spring 5-6-2026
Language
English
Faculty Mentor of Honors Project
David Baillargeon
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Flowers, Jake M., "Road To Brexit: History of Euroscepticism in the United Kingdom" (2026). 2026 Spring Honors Capstones Projects. 1.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/honors_spring2026/1