Le UKIP, artisan du Brexit ?

The Brexit victory caused a major political earthquake, not only in the UK but also in the rest of the European Union (EU). This historic vote marked the achievement of the original ambition of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) and of its leader Nigel Farage. This unexpected success raises the question of the role of UKIP in the Brexit victory: can the party be regarded as the main architect of Brexit ? This paper aims to address this question by structuring the analysis in three parts, corresponding to three different phases of the referendum. The first part will be devoted to the period prior to the referendum campaign, and will examine the strengths and weaknesses of UKIP: although the spectacular rise of the party since 2010 played a decisive part in David Cameron's pledge to hold a referendum on the EU, it also revealed the flaws and limits of the UKIP brand. The second part will focus on the referendum campaign proper, analysing UKIP's campaign but also its influence, direct and indirect, on the whole Brexit campaign. Finally, we will try to assess the impact of UKIP on the referendum results, exploring the potential links between the Brexit vote and the UKIP vote. This paper will argue that although the UKIP vote cannot explain the entire Brexit vote, it still sheds some light on why a majority of British people voted to get out of the EU.