Title credits for ‘The Truth about Immigration’, 2014
Euroscepticism in Britain continues to thrive and will be one of the most heated topics in the run-up to this year’s general election. A poll conducted by WIN/Gallup at the end of 2014 indicated that if a referendum were held now 51% of the public would vote to leave the EU. The reasons for this are diverse, ranging from democratic critiques of Brussels’s nefarious institutions to hysterical anxieties about immigration, the latter of which have notoriously tended towards racism.
In a climate of intense cynicism towards transnational governance a large chunk of the English language media has reflected an idea of Europe as it is presented by the Westminster elite, as something intrinsically opposed to the sovereignty of Parliament and, by extension, the people of Britain. Following in the footsteps of the politicians - from the Lib Dems to UKIP - journalists have made frequent mistakes, conflating Europe with the EU, the Commission with the Troika and, most gravely, freedom of movement with unchecked immigration. By and large it has been a sham debate.
