Vote leave supporters wait for Ukip Leader Nigel Farage to arrive in Clacton-on-Sea in Essex on 21 June. Nick Ansell/Press Association. All rights reserved.
Many modern nation states have grappled with the issue of making migrants into citizens. Britain, conversely, has turned citizens into migrants. The latest episode was the referendum on 23 June 2016 that determined, by a slim majority, that the UK should leave the European Union.
Since then, there has been much debate and discussion on what Brexit should look like and how it should be organised. But one thing at least is very clear: that the rhetoric on migration, which intensified and inflamed the national discussion in the period leading up to the vote, is a red line not to be crossed. Whatever else may be up for discussion, ‘taking back control of our borders’ and ‘reclaiming sovereignty’ in order to do this are not. While the details are to be worked out, it is likely that Brexit will involve taking rights away from non-British EU citizens and turning them into migrants with limited rights to enter, live, and work in the UK. Simultaneously, British EU citizens will lose similar rights on the continent.
