Hannah Spencer, the Green Party’s newly elected Member of Parliament in a recent UK by-election, attributed growing political discontent to widespread economic insecurity, stating that work “no longer provides the stability it once did.” Her remarks, delivered in her victory speech, reflect a broader shift in understanding the drivers of populism across Europe, according to research by sociologist Lorenza Antonucci.
For nearly a decade following Brexit and Donald Trump’s initial election, populist movements were often characterized as a response to economic displacement among working-class voters. However, Antonucci’s work, detailed in her forthcoming book, Insecurity Politics: How Unstable Lives Lead to Populist Support, challenges this narrative. She argues that a more pervasive sense of insecurity—affecting a wider demographic—is now a primary force behind the rise of anti-establishment politics.
Antonucci, an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Cambridge, has been researching the causes and effects of socio-economic insecurity for years. Her research indicates that the issue extends beyond traditional working-class concerns, encompassing anxieties about job stability, affordable housing and the ability to maintain a reasonable standard of living. She highlights the difficulty many face in covering basic expenses, such as food, school uniforms, heating, and pensions, despite consistent employment.
The shift in focus from solely economic hardship to broader insecurity is supported by Antonucci’s comparative research across nine European countries. This research, outlined in a book talk scheduled for April 7, 2026, at Harvard University’s Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, examines the “micro-level material and cultural dynamics that fuel anti-establishment politics in both right- and left-wing movements.”
This perspective aligns with a recent analysis published by Project Syndicate, which notes that politicians who address the roots of middle-class discontent are more likely to regain voter trust. The article points to Spencer’s victory as an example of a candidate successfully tapping into these anxieties.
Antonucci’s work has been featured in publications including The New York Times, The Guardian, and Le Monde, and she has discussed these themes on the BBC. Her research builds on earlier work examining the impact of student loan debt and precarious employment on political attitudes, as reported in The Observer in 2017 and Refinery29/Vice in 2021.
A 2024 article in Jacobin, authored by Antonucci, observed that British politics, despite being saturated with populist rhetoric in the wake of Brexit, has become increasingly detached from the needs of its citizens. The upcoming publication of Insecurity Politics is expected to further refine this analysis and offer insights into the evolving landscape of political discontent in Europe.