Who’s in Charge Here? How Partisan Publics Conceptualise ‘The Elite’ in Red Wall England

Opposition to ‘the elite’ is crucial to the populist turns shaping twenty- first century politics, yet little is known about how publics understand the concept. This thesis examines how politically active residents of the Red Wall region of England conceptualise individuals, groups and institutions who hold power, and the consequences for their worldviews. I make three contributions to the sociological literature. (1) A new schema for characterising the elites described in public discourse as exemplars of ‘folk mereology’ (Rose & Schaffer 2017). (2) The first empirical evidence that folk theories of elite power structure the worldviews of partisan publics. (3) A novel interpretation of Brexit and its successor parties’ persistent electoral strength in Red Wall England. Data was generated via semi-structured interviews with thirty- six participants recruited from parties on the left, right and centre of the region’s political mainstream. Left-wing participants conceived the elite as a cohesive ‘establishment’ concentrated at the apex of British society. Conversely, conservatives and liberals described a loosely-connected network of autonomous, high-achieving individuals dispersed across many social domains. I argue these distinct ‘mental maps’ of society were influential on participants’ broader worldviews in two main ways. First, populist sentiment was strongest among participants who conceived the elite as one and many simultaneously—a dual perspective that allowed the elite to function as ‘nodal point’ and ‘empty signifier’ in Brexit discourse (Laclau & Mouffe 1985). Second—irrespective of political orientation—monist accounts of the elite often accompanied calls for elite power to be redistributed. These findings complicate interpretations of Brexit support in the Red Wall as a straightforward ‘rightward turn’ by an historically left-leaning region. The elites described by Brexit’s most enthusiastic supporters suggested an at-least-somewhat egalitarian desire for redistribution of power, albeit an exclusionary form localised within the national borders affirmed by the referendum result.