Globalism and ‘the Left Behind’

Abstract

The UK in 2010 was still one of the most unequal societies in the developed world, both geographically, with the prosperous south and the less wealthy north, and in terms of income between the very rich and the poor. It meant that when the Great Recession overwhelmed the economy from 2008 onwards a substantial number of households, mainly concentrated in the North, Midlands and Wales but also in pockets of deprivation across even wealthy regions, were ill-placed to cope with the downturn because they were already in a financially perilous condition. These households became known as ‘the left behind’ and they were mostly in former manufacturing areas or seaside towns whose industries had lost out to global competition. This chapter looks at the socio-economic nature of these so-called ‘left behind,’ a majority of whom later voted for Brexit.