Boris’s Britain. The impact of populism on the 2019 General Election in England.
The 2019 General election was a change to traditional British politics, seeing the rise of populist tactics from leader Boris Johnson to seek the edge needed in the election. This was possible through the partisan dealignment of the past 20 years which has left many without clear voting intentions and as such influenced by personality politics. The coinciding of this election with the major issue of Brexit and immigration allowed for clear popular policies to be taken up by Johnson given his position during the 2016 referendum campaign. This blog details how populist tactics influenced the conservative approach as well as how the electorate voted.
Populism in this blog is defined as when political leaders try to resonate with mass popular beliefs of an electorate who feel they are forgotten and disregarded by the traditional political elite (Keppens., Spruyt., Van Droogenbroeck. 2016. P 335-6).
The Conservative Campaign
“Prime Minster Boris Johnson poses with St George’s Flag” by UK Prime Minister is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
As the conservative party leader and incumbent Prime Minister, Johnson was always to play a large role in the campaign and as a strong figure at the helm of the conservative party especially after the disaster of Theresa May’s election campaign in 2017 (Goodwin., Heath. 2017. P 345-347). This role was therefore normal however the fact that the campaign centred around Boris was in a way which had not been previously seen in recent elections. The feasibility for Johnson to become the face of the Conservative party and for the election to be won by Boris rather than the wider party was much higher than many other political leaders due to his political approach before his mainstream roles within government. Polling from before the General Election presented the way that Johnson, unlike any other leader could cross party divides and garner support particularly from Brexit voters following his 2016 leave campaign (De Geus., Evans., Green. 2023. P 985-990). This cross party support and charismatic style of Johnson characterising him as an alluring bumbling but loveable rogue allowed him to reach the working class sector who voted Brexit in a way that other conservative leaders could not. When referring back to the definition of populism previously stated, the persona put on by Johnson cast himself apart from the distrusted political elite.
This allowed for the Conservative campaign to focus on the charisma and character that Johnson had created to get the message across in a way which would be viewed and enjoyed by those who saw themselves as apart from the political elite (Alexandre-Collier. 2022. P 540-547). There were multiple examples of this with clear sound bites of ‘get brexit done’ such as Johnson driving a digger through the ‘gridlock and his unique and comedic campaign video on youtube which gained hundreds of thousands of views on Social media and marking Johnson as a charismatic leader who broke from the elite with clear popular messages.
Impact on the electorate
The impact that the populism of Johnson had on the electorate and how the people voted is possibly best viewed in the so-called ‘red wall’, an area of the Midlands and Northern England which for decades were considered safe Labour seats but which turned blue in 2019 as seen in the comparison between 2017 and 2019 below.
‘2017 election map’ by RaviC is licensed by CC BY-SA 4.0 “File:Results of the 2019 General Election in the UK v2.png” by ThatGamingSheep is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
As majority leave voting areas, the ability of Johnson to get messages such as ‘get brexit done’ and appearance as one of the main candidates in the leave movement allowed for his messages to be much more successful in coming across to thee core electorate of these constituencies as opposed to the Labour party (Gough. 2020. P 12-14). The successes in relaying these core messages enabled Boris to seem more believable and enhance his platform for other policy points which were aimed towards the working class, specifically the notion of levelling up which at its core was a populist policy aimed at those alienated and straddles traditional economic norms of left and right and the conservative party but was designed to gain these votes. Therefore it would be safe to say that the stance of Johnson and his persona on the Brexit issue allowed for further populist policy to be platformed and successfully garner the working class vote.
Bibliography
Alexandre-Collier, A.(2022). David Cameron, Boris Johnson and the ‘populist hypothesis’ in the British Conservative Party. Comp Eur Polit, 20, 527–543.
Blackburn, J.(2019).’ Lure of the Boris Bandwagon’, The Times. Available at: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/lure-of-boris-bandwagon-7w6wzfggk. (accessed 10/04/2024).
Buchan, L. (2019). ‘Boris Johnson smashes Union Flag branded JCB Brexit digger through piles of boxes in bizarre campaign event’, The Independent. Available at https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson-brexit-wall-video-election-jcb-digger-boxes-watch-a9240801.html. (accessed 10/04/2024).
Evans, G., de Geus, R., & Green, J. (2023). Boris Johnson to the Rescue? How the Conservatives Won the Radical-Right Vote in the 2019 General Election. Political Studies, 71(4), 984-1005.
Goodwin, N., Heath, O. (2017), The 2017 General Election, Brexit and the Return to Two-Party Politics: An Aggregate-Level Analysis of the Result†. The Political Quarterly, 88: 345-358.
Gough, J. (2020). Why the Labour Party Lost the British 2019 General Election: Social Democracy versus Neoliberalism and the Far Right. Class, Race and Corporate Power, 8(2), 12-14
Payne, S.(2021). ‘The new north, How labour lost its grip on the Red Wall’, The Financial Times. Available at https://www.ft.com/content/929022d8-d3fd-49ba-8ad1-3321a3c894e1. ( accessed 10/04/2024).
Ravic. (2019). ‘2017 election map’. Licensed under CC by 4.0
Spruyt, B., Keppens, G., & Van Droogenbroeck, F. (2016). Who Supports Populism and What Attracts People to It? Political Research Quarterly, 69(2), 335–346.
Thatgamingsheep. (2019). “Results of the 2019 election in the Uk’. Licensed under CC by SA 4.0
UK Prime Minister. (2021). ‘Prime Minister Boris Johnson Poses with St George’s flag’. Licensed under CC by 2.0
I really enjoyed reading this blog post, as an issue have been previously interested in it showed a new perspective well as a selection of maps that provide the ideal addition to the points being made. The discussion of populist tactics highlighted how key this was in them gaining such a large portion of the working class vote. The move away from Party and policy and towards personality helped Boris Johnson characterise himself, and in turn enabled him to capture the voters attention as a lovable fool, helping him evade responsibility in future issues. This analysis of the presidential style change was informative and I would like to see how they feel the current government could make use of this approach ahead of the election.
The author of this blog post clearly displays a high level of knowledge of the subject throughout this blog post and uses election maps to portray the points in the post. I particularly found the coverage of the impact on the electorate of the populist tactics very interesting.
I would add to this blog post that Johnson was able to take over the leader of Brexit from the traditionally populist party of UKIP/ Reform UK. Johnson was able to become to representative of a ‘hard Brexit’ and the main issue of UKIP was absorbed by the conservative party. Johnson, who was one of the leaders in the Leave campaign, was able to diminish the threat from UKIP by taking this role and as the author points out, using populist tactics to win over the electorate. Johnson was able to appeal to UKIP’s voter base, as the author points out, by appealing to those ‘left behind’ working-class voters.
I very much enjoyed reading your blog, it was very informative. Your analysis provides a well-rounded view of Boris Johnson’s pivotal role in the Conservative campaign, particularly emphasizing his charisma and ability to connect with Brexit voters. Johnson’s emergence as a central figure in the campaign indeed reflects a shift in political dynamics, where personal appeal can sometimes overshadow party allegiance. It’s worth considering how Johnson’s background as a prominent Leave campaigner uniquely positioned him to resonate with Brexit supporters, a point that could possibly further illustrate his strategic advantage over other conservative leaders.
Additionally, discussing the potential risks of a campaign centred too heavily around one individual could add depth to the analysis. While Johnson’s persona as a populist outsider may have galvanized certain demographics, it also raises questions about the party’s long-term strategy and resilience beyond his leadership. Hence, why he endured the revolt by his ministers following scandals such as Partygate.
Following this line of thought, exploring the implications of Johnson’s approach in terms of governance and policy implementation post-election could offer valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities ahead for the Conservative party. Overall, your comment provides valuable context and raises thought-provoking questions that enrich the discussion on the evolving landscape of British politics.
This was a very interesting blog taking on the rise of so called populist politics in Britain. The blog did a very effective job at pursuing its argument. I found the piece on how Boris Johnson managed to flip red wall voters to conservative very interesting. Moreover, I also thought the attention paid on how the Conservative party focused heavily on often alienated voters very intriguing, showing a shift in the parties focus. I think it would have been useful to provide some statistics to fully support some of the claims that were made. Moreover, I thought it would have been useful to provide some balance to the argument. For example, to say these tactics were to ‘seek the edge in the election’ it would have been useful to acknowledge the landslide victory the 2019 election gave to the conservative party. People had legitimate reasons for voting for this campaign, with areas like Liverpool seeing huge Levelling up payments as a result of these policies.
Overall a brilliant blog post. The introduction clearly and concisely laid out the framework for the rest of the post, with a good definition of populism too. The outline of the Conservative election campaign was very interesting, especially as it highlighted the importance of Boris Johnson’s personality in setting him aside from the elite to win working-class votes, which is a very populist technique indeed. There was a good citation of the ‘red wall’ as an example of this populist technique working in favour of the Conservative party in 2019. This post is especially interesting, as we see today some conservative politicians defecting to the right-wing populist party Reform UK: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/lee-anderson-reform-uk-tory-richard-tice-b2510569.html
This is an informative review of populism’s influence during England’s 2019 general election, with a focus on Boris Johnson’s leadership style. Examining how digital media platforms affected voter attitudes and behaviour in this setting could add to the subject at hand. As witnessed in recent worldwide elections, social media has become a powerful instrument for populist leaders to bypass traditional media channels, directly communicate with voters, and propagate their messages. In the 2019 election, Boris Johnson’s campaign made strategic use of social media, particularly targeted commercials, and viral content, to shape public opinion and mobilise support. This component of digital impact is critical for comprehending the complete range of issues that influenced political outcomes and the larger ramifications of populism in modern democracies.
This blog post demonstrates a key understanding of Boris Johnson’s rise to becoming Prime Minister and how he utilised populism to further and increase his political influence and power. Evaluating his campaign’s usage of media, particularly social media, with him as a key figure and centrepiece of the 2019 General Election campaign illustrates the idea that the public’s perception of British politics has shifted the view of party leader into more of a presidential figure, similar to the American system- which makes it easy to see how Boris Johnson emulated populist tactics similar to that of Donald Trump during the 2016 US presidential election. The author also, correctly, highlights how Johnson created a public image that typically appealed to working class, Brexit supporting electorate, for example having a scruffy appearance and going by ‘Boris’ as opposed to his actual first name ‘Alexander’ in order to appear more palatable to the electorate.
I really enjoyed reading this blog .This blog is really informative and clear, Populism as the main idea is defined and made clear early on and the example used of Boris and his 2019 election really clearly set out the idea of populism in action. I thought the idea that Boris’ charisma helped him gain votes from a more working class background and how the conservative party took advantage of this in their campaign in order to gain these working class votes was really interesting. The use of maps also make the ideas being made much clearer to understand. The main idea of populism is highlighted throughout with aspects such as the impact populism had on the electorate