ABSTRACT
We explore the role the Murdoch press played in the process of the U.K. withdrawing from the European Union. The Sun, at the time Britain’s most popular newspaper, played a leading role in creating a Euroskeptic mindset among the British public, not just during the referendum campaign itself but in the years before – perhaps the most iconic moment being a 2011 front-page headline “Up Yours Delors” in response to the then head of the EU Commission’s proposals for monetary union. The Sun saw itself as cheerleading for the most extreme form of Brexit and pushed Euroskepticism to its limits during the campaign and continued to do so in the U.K.’s subsequent difficult relationship with Brussels. The readerships of the Murdoch-owned Times and The Sunday Times were, in general, in favor of remaining within the EU but The Times gave only lukewarm support to the Remain cause while The SundayTimes, under the editorship of an enthusiastic “Leaver,” positively supported the campaign for Britain’s withdrawal.
