From Europe's Margins to Global Britain

This chapter explores how Brexit-supporting media sought to reshape the UK's image following the Brexit referendum, moving it away from its traditional position on Europe's “margins”. By focusing on public debates after the 2016 referendum and until the end of Conservative rule in mid-2024, it examines the strategies used to systematically undermine and challenge the European Union (EU), and to portray it as a peripheral power. It analyzes how the debates sought to redefine the UK as a new center of economic and political influence that would be capable of outperforming the EU. Specifically, the chapter highlights how Britain sought to leverage its status as an EU outsider to craft a distinct national identity and promote a vision of “Global Britain”.