#1307 James Tilley & Sara Hobolt - Tribal Politics: How Brexit Divided Britain
RECORDED ON AUGUST 25th 2026.
Dr. James Tilley is Professor of Politics in the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Oxford. He works primarily in the fields of public opinion and electoral behavior, with a focus on Britain and the EU.
Dr. Sara Hobolt holds the Sutherland Chair in European Institutions and is the Head of the Department of Government at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Her research and teaching interests lie in political behavior, public opinion and the EU, and comparative politics.
They are authors of Tribal Politics: How Brexit Divided Britain.
In this episode, we focus on Tribal Politics. We start by going through the history of Brexit. We discuss tribal politics, and the Leavers and the Remainers. We talk about how things have evolved over the past 10 years. We discuss the development of issue-based identities and their social and political consequences. We explore the phenomena of ingroup affect, outgroup animosity and prejudice, affective polarization, and cognitive bias. We talk about the Big Five, the Dark Triad, and political tribalism. We explore four different scenarios for the continuing role of Brexit identities: restoration, revival, realignment, and replacement. Finally, we discuss whether tribal politics can be overcome.
Time Links:
Intro
The history of Brexit
What is tribal politics?
The Leavers and the Remainers
How things have evolved over the past 10 years
The development of issue-based identities and their consequences
Ingroup affect, outgroup animosity and prejudice, and affective polarization
Cognitive bias
The Big Five, the Dark Triad, and political tribalism
4 different scenarios for the continuing role of Brexit identities
Can tribal politics be overcome?
Follow Drs. Tilley and Hobolt’s work!
Tribal Politics: https://tinyurl.com/3a8yknw6
Follow Dr. Tilley’s work:
Faculty page: https://tinyurl.com/2rn5x5v3
ResearchGate profile: https://tinyurl.com/4pr9tkb4
Follow Dr. Hobolt’s work:
Faculty page: https://tinyurl.com/37ma529x
Website: https://hobolt.com/