Unsettled: Brexit and European Union nationals' sense of belonging

Abstract

This article explores the dynamics of belonging of European Union (EU) nationals living in the United Kingdom (UK) in the context of UK's withdrawal from the EU. It uses a mixed-methods study of prereferendum and postreferendum survey and interviews and focus groups to investigate patterns of belonging among EU nationals, shifts in the parameters of these patterns, and the overall impact of Brexit on them. The study identifies four patterns of belonging and argues that Brexit has significantly disrupted them, shifting them towards a new phase of rationalisation and reaction reliant on migrantness, Europeanness, and rights. In the aftermath of the referendum, EU nationals began to rethink their belonging, constituting themselves as a collectivity by making use of EU citizenship and a shared European identity. This constitutive dynamics is consequential for the status of EU nationals in the UK, for the boundaries of the political community of the British state, and also for Europe.

Understanding how Eastern European migrants use and experience UK health services: a systematic scoping review

“…Another study examined why Polish people visited GPs. Women were, on average, significantly more likely to visit their GP than men, especially among 25-34 (2.46 visits to 1.89) and [35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44] year-olds (3.11 visits to 2.35 visits) (p = 0.0038). Overall, the most common conditions that patients presented with were respiratory problems (33% of visits), especially upper respiratory tract infections (24% of visits).…”

“…All these issues are relevant not just to the UK, but to other EU countries too. The uncertain post-Brexit environment [41][42][43][44] may dissuade some Eastern Europeans from settling in the UK, with some preferring instead to go to mainland Europe. Uncertainty over whether they acquire the more secure settled status as opposed to the less secure pre-settled status [45] may prompt some Eastern Europeans in the UK to return home [46].…”

EU Children in Brexit Britain: Re‐Negotiating Belonging in Nationalist Times

“…As the emerging literature on the effects of Brexit on various groups of migrants has started to show (Guma and Jones, ; Lulle et al., ,b; Ranta and Nancheva, ; Rzepnikowska, ) for the free‐mover parents, Brexit resulted in a loss of security and sense of control over their lives, which affects their wellbeing as well as their current home‐making practices. The parents we interviewed had chosen the UK as their home, several stating its distinctive and now disappearing multiculturalist and pluralist stance as a pull factor, and were busy investing in a variety of home‐making practices when the Brexit campaign started.…”

“…Two years on from the referendum, the legal status of EU nationals in the UK remains unclear (D'Angelo and Kofman, ). Simultaneously, in public discourse EU nationals have been demoted from “EU citizens” to (unwelcome) “migrant workers” (D'Angelo and Kofman, ; Guma, ; Lafleur and Mescoli, ; Ranta and Nancheva, ).…”

Brexit, British People of Colour in the EU-27 and everyday racism in Britain and Europe

“…In the corresponding field of research that considers Brexit and its implications for EU nationals a central theme has been how it interplays with and amplifies questions of belonging (see for example Piętka-Nykaza and McGhee 2017;Lulle, Moroşanu, and King 2018;Botterill and Hancock 2019;Lulle et al 2019;McCarthy 2019;Ranta and Nancheva 2019). A prominent way into understanding this has been to take as a starting point respondents' narrative positioning of Brexit as an affective moment.…”