Tag Archives: financialization

John Hann

Financialization – the reason why the vote was for Brexit

By John Hann | Mon 25th July 2016 - 5:17 pm

The referendum result came as a surprise to most people who naturally assumed that the electorate would seek to avoid the risks of change.

However, as the Prime Minister has been reported as saying “Leave supporters were not just voting against Europe but were delivering a cry of frustration about a range of problems afflicting British Society … Top among these concerns was the widening gap between working class voters who saw their wages stagnate…”

The loss of millions of well-paid jobs in manufacturing has been caused by the extreme financialization of the UK economy that has occurred over the last 35 years.

Financialization is the process whereby financial markets, and financial elites, gain greater influence not only over other sectors of the economy, but also over the economic policy of the country.

The financial sector has successfully resisted any attempts to restrict the UK’s takeover system. This has decimated the manufacturing sector while earning huge revenues for London and its financial sector. It is no coincidence that London voted Remain, while the former manufacturing regions voted Leave.

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Posted in Op-eds | 23 Comments
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