Mobilizing Migration: Analysing the Role of the ‘Migrant’ in the British Press During the EU Referendum 2016 Debate

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to reveal how migrants were mobilized in discourses in the British press prior to the UK’s referendum on European Union membership in June 2016. The analysis seeks to gain insight into the role fulfilled by the symbolic ‘migrant’ throughout the debate, the means by which the media does this, and the overall ‘common sense’ that was reported. This has been achieved through discourse analysis of articles from five British press titles over a timeline inclusive of three key events in the referendum debate that also encompassed heightened levels of displacement of migrants and refugees throughout Europe. The findings confirm the problematic position migration has within the British press, as the role of the ‘migrant’ played an instrumental and persuasive role throughout the debate.