This chapter is devoted to the process of ‘Brexit’ – the British exit from the European Union and the complexity around it. First, the wider context and political climate worldwide is analysed with particular focus on the rise of distrust, disillusion and identity politics. Second, a brief history of the European Economic Community and the EU is provided. In June 2016, after 43 years as part of the European community, the UK people decided to leave. In March the following year, the UK Prime Minister officially started the process of Brexit. Third, the political complexity behind the decision to hold the referendum is explored. The context of the new populism as the prevalent ideology is put against the political situation in the UK with David Cameron starting talks on the need for the people to have their say in the run up to General Election 2015. The results of the referendum are critically discussed taking into account voters’ demographic characteristics. While Brexit was decided by a relatively small margin of people, the topic of immigration was key in the debates preceding the EU referendum. Fourth, migrants’ legal status is explored. The chapter culminates in a series of qualitative narratives with the aim of illustrating preand post-Brexit-vote reality for those who exercised their EU Treaty rights and came to work in the UK. The complexity of Brexit for EU migrants is demonstrated by drawing on in-depth accounts from recent Polish migrant women to the UK.

Context matters: the rise of distrust and disillusion

As discussed in chapter one, the context of raising neoliberalism and neopopulism is important to acknowledge, as it has had a significant influence on the result of the UK referendum on the EU membership. As already explained, neopopulism relies on emotions and not facts, whereby experts are easily dismissed as those with no real-life experience, whilst post-truth and antiintellectualism make it impossible to learn from history and to move beyond empty promises.