Brexit has unveiled previously hidden aspects of United Kingdom (UK) society, law and politics. It provides a valuable opportunity to investigate the social reception of law, and in particular the mediation of the law and constitution in the press. The distinctive constitutional arrangements and histories of Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and England have given rise to different territorial interpretations of the UK state. These asymmetries have parallels in the UK’s territorial media landscape, yet we have little understanding of how this landscape contributes to constitutional discourses. This article offers quantitative content and thematic analysis of UK-wide media coverage of major court judgments which have served as critical junctures in the Brexit process. The analysis reveals striking territorial variation in the volume and substance of coverage. Here, the media appears to reinforce divergent understandings of the constitution: while English reporting chimed with a more unitary account of the constitution, reporting elsewhere was more consistent with a vision of the UK as union-state. In the light of these findings, we argue that media analysis can make a valuable contribution to our understanding of the law and the constitution.
AgnewS (2016) Written submissions in reference by the attorney general for Northern Ireland – in the matter of an application by Agnew and others for judicial review. Available at: https://www.supremecourt.uk/news/article-50-brexit-appeal.html(accessed 19 September 2019).
2.
AratoJ (2012) Constitutionality and constitutionalism beyond the state: Two perspectives on the material constitution of the United Nations. International Journal of Constitutional Law10(3): 627–659.
Belfast Telegraph (2017) NI MPs must unite to get best out of Brexit, 25 January. Available at: https://www.lexisnexis.co.uk/ (accessed 23 April 2020).
5.
Belfast Telegraph (2018a) Ruling highlights our political stalemate, 15 May. Available at: https://www.lexisnexis.co.uk/ (accessed 23 April 2020).
6.
Belfast Telegraph (2018b) Impasse at Stormont sends negative image, 17 May. Available at: https://www.lexisnexis.co.uk/ (accessed 23 April 2020).
7.
Belfast Telegraph (2018c) Odds not good on our leaders seeing sense, 18 May. Available at: https://www.lexisnexis.co.uk/ (accessed 23 April 2020).
8.
BlainNHutchinsonDHassanG (eds) (2016) Scotland’s Referendum and the Media. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, pp. 26–32.
9.
BraunVClarkeV (2006) Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology3(2): 77–101.
10.
BreenS (2018) Shambolic U-Turn begs question of who actually is in charge here. Belfast Telegraph, 15 May. Available at: https://www.lexisnexis.co.uk/ (accessed 23 April 2020).
11.
BreezeR (2018) “Enemies of the people”: Populist performances in the Daily Mail reporting of the article 50 case. Discourse, Context and Media25: 60–67.
12.
CherniloD (2007) A Social Theory of the Nation-State: The Political Forms of Modernity Beyond Methodological Nationalism. London: Routledge.
13.
Daily Mail (2016) Who will speak for England?, 4 February. Available at: https://www.lexisnexis.co.uk/ (accessed 23 April 2020).
14.
Daily Mail (2017) This was not a good day for democracy, 25 January. Available at: https://www.lexisnexis.co.uk/ (accessed 23 April 2020).
15.
DebA (2019) The legacy of Buick: Northern Ireland’s chaotic constitutional crucible. Edinburgh Law Review23(2): 259–266.
16.
Douglas-ScottS (2016) Brexit, article 50 and the contested British constitution. Modern Law Review79(6): 1019–1040.
17.
FarrellMDrywoodEHughesE (eds) (2019) Human Rights in the Media: Fear and Fetish. Oxon: Routledge.
18.
FeldmanD (2005) None, one or several? Perspectives on the UK’s constitution(s). Cambridge Law Journal64(2): 329–351.
19.
GordonT (2017) Budgeting for power dynamics at Holyrood. Herald, 28 January. Available at: https://www.lexisnexis.co.uk/ (accessed 23 April 2020).
20.
GourtsoyannisP (2017) UK constitutional crisis has not been averted. Scotsman, 24 January. Available at: https://www.lexisnexis.co.uk/ (accessed 23 April 2020).
21.
Haider-MarkelDPAllenMDJohansenM (2006) Understanding variations in media coverage of US Supreme Court decisions: Comparing media outlets in their coverage of Lawrence v. Texas. Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics11(2): 64–85.
22.
HansenAMachinD (2013) Media and Communication Research Methods. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.
23.
HendersonAJefferyCLiñeiraR, et al. (2016) England, Englishness and Brexit. Political Quarterly87(2): 187–199.
24.
Herald (2017) Ramifications of article 50 judgment for union’s future, 25 January. Available at: https://www.lexisnexis.co.uk/ (accessed 23 April 2020).
25.
Independent (2017a) Labour must stand up for a real vote on Brexit terms, 25 January. Available at: https://www.lexisnexis.co.uk/ (accessed 23 April 2020).
26.
Independent (2017b) The European dream fizzles out – but Labour is still looking inward, 27 January. Available at: https://www.lexisnexis.co.uk/ (accessed 23 April 2020).
27.
Irish News (2017) Politicians must seek best deal, 25 January. Available at: https://www.lexisnexis.co.uk/ (accessed 23 April 2020).
28.
Irish News (2018a) State of uncertainty, 15 May. Available at: https://www.lexisnexis.co.uk/ (accessed 23 April 2020).
29.
Irish News (2018b) We’re still polls apart in banana republic, 18 May. Available at: https://www.lexisnexis.co.uk/ (accessed 23 April 2020).
30.
JamiesonB (2017) Who speaks for Scotland on Brexit?Scotsman, 26 January. Available at: https://www.lexisnexis.co.uk/ (accessed 23 April 2020).
31.
JefferyCWincottD (2010) The challenge of territorial politics: Beyond methodological nationalism. In: HayC (ed.), New Directions in Political Science: Responding to the Challenges of an Interdependent World. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 167–188.
KaneA (2017) DUP has a strong hand over article 50 – Which is why it must play it wisely. Belfast Telegraph, 25 January. Available at: https://www.lexisnexis.co.uk/ (accessed 23 April 2020).
36.
KeatingM (2017) A long way from federalism but closer to a constitutional clash. Herald, 25 January. Available at: https://www.lexisnexis.co.uk/ (accessed 23 April 2020).
37.
KeatingM (2018) Brexit and the nations. Political Quarterly90(S2): 167–176.
38.
KingA (2007) The British Constitution. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
39.
LongJ (2006) Intermittent state constitutionalism. Pepperdine Law Review34(1): 41–104.
40.
MacInnesJRosieMPetersooP, et al. (2007) Where is the British national press?British Journal of Sociology58(2): 185–206.
41.
MacwhirterI (2017a) Choice is to be a region or opt for full self-rule. Herald, 24 January. Available at: https://www.lexisnexis.co.uk/ (accessed 23 April 2020).
42.
MacwhirterI (2017b) How Holyrood has become a parliament in name only. Herald, 26 January. Available at: https://www.lexisnexis.co.uk/ (accessed 23 April 2020).
43.
McHargA (2018) Unity and diversity in the United Kingdom’s territorial constitution. In: ElliottMVaruhasJNEStarkSW (eds), The Unity of Public Law? Doctrinal, Theoretical and Comparative Perspectives. Oxford: Hart, pp. 279–300.
44.
McHargAMcCorkindaleC (2019) The Supreme Court and devolution: The Scottish Continuity Bill reference. Juridical Review2: 190–197.
45.
MicóJCarbonellJ (2017) The Catalan political process for independence: An example of the partisan media system. American Behavioral Scientist61(4): 428–440.
MoranLJ (2014a) Mass-mediated ‘open justice’: Court and judicial reports in the press in England and Wales. Legal Studies34(1): 143–166.
48.
MoranLJ (2014b) Managing the “critical independencies” of the media and judiciary in the United Kingdom. In: AsimowMBrownKPapkeD (eds), Law and Popular Culture: International Perspectives. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, pp. 195–218.
49.
MurphyP (2017) Tiny changes possible in reformed Stormont. Irish News, 28 January 2019. Available at: https://www.lexisnexis.co.uk/ (accessed 23 April 2020).
50.
NairnT (1988) The Enchanted Glass: Britain and its Monarchy. London: Radius.
51.
O’BrienP (2017) “Enemies of the people”: Judges, the media, and the mythic lord chancellor. Public Law (Brexit Special Issue): 135–149.
52.
PfetschBAdamSEschnerB (2010) The media’s voice over Europe: Issue salience, openness, and conflict lines in editorials. In: KoopmansRStathamP (eds), The Making of a European Public Sphere: Media Discourse and Political Contention. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 151–170.
53.
PowellS (2016) Wales, devolution and the Scottish independence debate. In: BlainNHutchinsonDHassanG (eds), Scotland’s Referendum and the Media. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, pp. 121–131.
54.
RawlingsR (2015) Riders on the storm: Wales, the union, and territorial constitutional crisis. Journal of Law and Society42(4): 471–498.
55.
RentoulJ (2017) If the government publishes a bill today, then article 50 becomes Labour’s hot potato. Independent, 25 January. Available at: https://www.lexisnexis.co.uk/ (accessed 23 April 2020).
56.
ReynoldsS (2019) It’s not me, it’s you: Examining the print media’s approach to ‘Europe’ in Brexit Britain. In: FarrellMDrywoodEHughesE (eds), Human Rights in the Media: Fear and Fetish. Oxon: Routledge, pp. 44–77.
57.
RobertsonR (2017) MPs may vote for Brexit, but the ruling didn’t say our next government can’t reverse it. Independent, 26 January. Available at: https://www.lexisnexis.co.uk/ (accessed 23 April 2020).
58.
SandfordMGormley-HeenanC (2020) ‘Taking back control’, the UK’s constitutional narrative and Schrodinger’s devolution. Parliamentary Affairs73(1): 108–126.
59.
SauvageauFSchneidermanDTarasD (2006) Last Word: Media Coverage of the Supreme Court of Canada. Vancouver: UBC Press.
60.
Scotsman (2017) Court flawed in decision where democracy lies. Scotsman, 25 January. Available at: https://www.lexisnexis.co.uk/ (accessed 23 April 2020).
TonkissF (2004) Analysing text and speech: Content and discourse analysis. In: Seale C (ed.), Researching Society and Culture. London: SAGE, pp. 368–382.
63.
WalkerMH (2017a) Northern Ireland has been betrayed over Brexit before…but Supreme Court decision was the worst yet. Belfast Telegraph, 28 January. Available at: https://www.lexisnexis.co.uk/ (accessed 23 April 2020).
64.
WalkerMH (2017b) This latest Brexit betrayal of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales is also the worst. Independent, 27 January, 37.
Western Mail (2017) A milestone for a stronger Commons, 25 January. Available at: https://www.lexisnexis.co.uk/ (accessed 23 April 2020).
67.
WilliamsonKGoldingP (2016) The English press and the referendum. In: BlainNHutchinsonDHassanG (eds), Scotland’s Referendum and the Media. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, pp. 109–120.
68.
WilsonB (2017) Another referendum? Not in my name. Scotsman, 27 January. Available at: https://www.lexisnexis.co.uk/ (accessed 23 April 2020).
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
