TY - JOUR
T1 - Brexit and the NHS: Voting Behaviour and Views on the Impact of Leaving the EU
AU - Robinson, Catherine
AU - Drinkwater, Stephen
PY - 2022/8/17
Y1 - 2022/8/17
N2 - This paper examines three aspects of Brexit with regards to the NHS. Firstly, we consider the influence of views regarding one the most contentious issues in the referendum campaign: Vote Leave’s claim that the ‘savings’ from EU membership could alternatively be used to provide additional funding for the NHS. We find that views about NHS underfunding had a relatively small, but statistically significant, effect on leave voting even after controlling for a range of socio-demographic and economic variables. However, the magnitude of this effect is reduced and becomes insignificant when health-related and cultural controls are added. Secondly, we examine how NHS workers voted relative to others in employment, and find that a relatively high proportion were actually leave voters. Finally, we analyse whether individuals thought that Brexit would have a positive or negative impact on the NHS, as well as the reason/reasons for their view. We find that supporters of the Conservative party were by far the most likely to think that Brexit would be good for the NHS.
AB - This paper examines three aspects of Brexit with regards to the NHS. Firstly, we consider the influence of views regarding one the most contentious issues in the referendum campaign: Vote Leave’s claim that the ‘savings’ from EU membership could alternatively be used to provide additional funding for the NHS. We find that views about NHS underfunding had a relatively small, but statistically significant, effect on leave voting even after controlling for a range of socio-demographic and economic variables. However, the magnitude of this effect is reduced and becomes insignificant when health-related and cultural controls are added. Secondly, we examine how NHS workers voted relative to others in employment, and find that a relatively high proportion were actually leave voters. Finally, we analyse whether individuals thought that Brexit would have a positive or negative impact on the NHS, as well as the reason/reasons for their view. We find that supporters of the Conservative party were by far the most likely to think that Brexit would be good for the NHS.
U2 - 10.1057/s41293-022-00216-9
DO - 10.1057/s41293-022-00216-9
M3 - Article
JO - British Politics
JF - British Politics
SN - 1746-918X
ER -