Deprivation and the Electoral Geography of Brexit

30 Pages Posted: 29 Dec 2020

See all articles by Robert Calvert Jump

Robert Calvert Jump

University of Greenwich - Business School

Jo Michell

University of the West of England (UWE)

Date Written: November 9, 2020

Abstract

This paper provides a comprehensive examination of the relationship between deprivation and the electoral geography of Brexit, using the most granular referendum data and the most detailed deprivation data currently available. Using rank-based statistics we demonstrate that geographic deprivation is positively associated with Leave voting. However, this relationship is neither strong nor straightforward: educational deprivation drives the association, and once higher educational attainment or occupational composition are controlled for the association becomes negative. This has important implications for narratives that assume a causal mechanism connecting multi-dimensional deprivation with the geography of Brexit.

Keywords: Brexit, Deprivation, Geography

Suggested Citation

Calvert Jump, Robert and Michell, Jo, Deprivation and the Electoral Geography of Brexit (November 9, 2020). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3727280 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3727280

Robert Calvert Jump (Contact Author)

University of Greenwich - Business School ( email )

United Kingdom

Jo Michell

University of the West of England (UWE) ( email )

Blackberry Hill Bristol
West Bristol
Bristol, Avon BS16 1QY
United Kingdom

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