Vox Pops, Political Divisions and Brexit

My project will advance understanding of how media - specifically 'vox pop' interview segments in
political news - represent political divisions in their coverage. Do media give an accurate picture of
divisions over Brexit or do they present stereotypes of Leave and Remain voters? Whilst a substantial
literature analyses the divisions in attitudes, identities and voting that have become apparent in the
years following the UK's referendum vote to leave the EU (e.g. Hobolt, 2016; Jennings & Stoker 2018),
few studies consider how the media present these new political divides to their audience. My project will
firstly explore the divides created by Brexit within the electorate - most notably in voting behaviour in
the snap general elections held in 2017 and 2019, but also in public attitudes more generally. Both
elections revealed the emergence of new political divides in the electorate over Brexit. The second part
of the project will consider how broadcast media present the emergence of new political divides - in
attitudes and voting behaviour to their audience. It will consider the sorts of people who are interviewed
in political news items about Brexit - their age, gender, ethnicity and where they are from in the country
(in particular whether they are from Leave or Remain-voting areas) - and how their contributions are
used by journalists. The project will, therefore, provide insights into whether media portray accurately
the extent of Britain's political divides over Brexit.