Description
By ratifying the Withdrawal Agreement and the Trade and Co-operation Agreement, Boris Johnson’s Government claimed it had delivered Brexit. However, the evidence increasingly suggests that this manifestation of Brexit negatively impacts the British people and economy. This research considers the narratives that try to make sense of this impact by focusing on the arguments advanced by the UK Government and Brexit-supporting press. Drawing on the insights of Lacanian-inspired Ontological Security Studies, it finds that Brexiteers claim that Brexit has been undermined and risks being thwarted due to the shortcomings of the previous government’s strategy, and external actors, like the European Commission and the French Government. Positioning these actors as barriers to Brexit allows Brexiteers to construct a narrative which offers success if the obstacles can be overcome. The fulfilment – jouissance – promised by the narrative is used to justify increasingly antagonistic rhetoric and behaviour, including unilateral action on the Northern Ireland Protocol. While a Lacanian view of ontological security suggests these actions can never truly deliver the promised fulfilment, they are likely to be particularly self-defeating, as they will trigger a response from the EU which further emphasises the costs of Brexit in the mind of the public.
