Feature: the growing politics of places

To understand the rise of political division in the UK, NewStart reporter Chloe Coules investigates the role of place and location in the formation of political opinion.

Political polarisation has characterised life in the UK in recent years, with the number of political protests steadily increasing since before the economic crisis in 2008, and key issues like Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic causing division in society.

However, new research suggests that where you live may play a large role in which side of the current debates you end up on.

Researchers at the University of Cambridge recently found that political distrust rises as you move from urban areas in Europe into the countryside.

They analysed survey data collected between 2002 and 2018 to gauge the civic and social attitudes of people across the cities, towns and rural areas of 30 European countries, finding that people in rural areas had the lowest levels of trust in their nation’s political system, and yet are significantly more likely to vote than people in urban areas.

The research found that city dwellers are much more likely to lean towards the political left, while residents of suburbs, towns and countryside are increasingly more likely to view themselves as conservative and hold anti-immigration and EU views.

The study suggests that political polarisation in the 21st century may have a lot to do with place and location, with a political divide opening up between city and countryside across the continent.

The researchers warn that their findings suggest a ‘deepening geographical fracture’ in European societies that could see a return to the urban-rural political divides of the early 20th century.

Professor Michael Kenny, co-author of the study, says: ‘Those living outside of Europe’s major urban centres have much less faith in politics. The growth of disenchantment in more rural areas has provided fertile soil for nationalist and populist parties and causes – a trend that looks set to continue.’

‘We find that there is a geography to current patterns of political disillusion. As disenchantment rises in European hinterlands, democratic politics risks being eroded from within by people who engage with elections yet distrust the system and are drawn to populist, anti-system parties,’ adds Dr Davide Luca, co-author of the study now published in the Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society.

While this political divide is most defined in France, the researchers found that the trend is still very much evidenced in the UK.

Dr Davide Luca explains: ‘Cambridge is a prime example. The centre hosts the world’s leading labs and companies, yet greater Cambridge is one of the UK’s least equal cities, and the fenland market towns are even more disconnected from the city’s hyper-globalised core.’

Perhaps one of the clearest indicators of a geographical political divide in the UK was the 2016 Brexit vote.

According to researchers at the University of Southampton and Centre for Towns, the Brexit vote revealed a stark difference between places, with smaller towns and rural areas tending to vote to leave the EU, while major cities tended to vote to remain.

This pattern was mirrored in the 2017 general election, with Labour seeing a 10.2% increase of votes in cities but only a 4.1% increase in small towns, according to analysis by Professor Will Jennings at the University of Southampton.

There is some debate in academic research about the causes of this growing political divide.

Professor Jennings attributes this divide to the decline of certain places, with his analysis finding that the more a place has experienced relative decline, the more likely it is to have voted for the Conservatives and Brexit.

He predicts that this cause of the political divide will only worsen, as the economic impacts of a hard Brexit disproportionately affect certain areas.

However, the researchers at the University of Cambridge found that the poorest areas do not have the highest political disillusionment, and even though small town and countryside dwellers voice dissatisfaction with democratic institutions, they also report higher life satisfaction.

This may be due to residents of rural areas feeling excluded from political decision making, with research by University of Southampton and Centre for Towns suggesting that one of the key features of political resentment is that people in small towns and rural areas feel like they are not getting their fair share, and that their interests are being side-lined as other groups – often minorities – are perceived to be given priority by political elites.

Addressing the divide

Researchers at the New Economics Foundation suggest that addressing economic issues in rural areas and giving local government more powers is crucial to tackling the political divide.

They recommend building up local supply chains to give greater economic prosperity and cultural identity to towns, improving the quality of jobs in parts of the economy that we rely on daily, building local infrastructure, and developing more decentralised political institutions to tackle political division between towns and cities.

Dr Davide Luca argues that reviving public services that have suffered because of austerity and ageing populations will also be crucial: ‘Ageing populations in small towns and villages combined with years of austerity have put pressure on public services in rural areas – services that are often central to the social connections needed for a community to thrive. Reviving these services may be key to reducing the political divides emerging between urban and rural populations across Europe.’

Professor Michael Kenny at the University of Cambridge adds that improving economic conditions will not be enough to address the divide on its own: ‘Mainstream politicians seeking to re-engage residents of small towns and villages must provide economic opportunities, but they also need to address feelings of disconnection from mainstream politics and the changes associated with a more globalised economy.’

As the political divide in the country deepens, it is crucial that local issues are addressed to regain trust in our democratic system and promote unity moving forward.

Photos by Gary Ellis and Benjamin Davies