Brexit and a new divide in British Politics: How has the party system in the UK changed as voters' socioeconomic circumstances have altered

In three years, the British public have delivered three results at elections or referenda that indicate a major upheaval is in progress in the British party system. While the traditional two-party system in the UK has arguably long been in decline, the recent "Brexit" vote and the subsequent General Election appear to have brought potentially long-underlying divides to the surface that cross-cut the traditional social-class party allegiances of British voters.

The proposal is for a PhD that investigates the basis behind these new divides (or cleavages) in British Politics, and to examine what differentiates the groups that now support either side using ESRC election resources, particularly the multiple waves of the British Election Study conducted between 2014 and 2017. Specifically, the aim will be to capture the non-class related economic differences between these groups (for example, how secure is their economic position.)