Brexit

Initial Reflections

Bibliographic Data

ID4036795
AuthorsAnand Menon (0000-0002-0304-6528, Professor of European Politics and Foreign Affairs at King's College London, and Director of ‘The UK in a changing Europe’ (www.ukandeu.ac.uk).), John-Paul Salter (0000-0001-8469-7914, Visiting Lecturer in Public Policy at the Department of Political Economy, King's College London.)
Year2016
Volume92
Issue6
Pages1297-1318
Publication date2016-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Affairs (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0020-5850 • E-ISSN: 1468-2346
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1111/1468-2346.12745
OpenAlexW2547798317
LanguageEN
Citations received36

Even though the opinion polling before the British referendum on membership of the European Union showed a narrow gap between the two sides, the actual result—a vote to leave—on the morning of 24 June 2016 came as a surprise to many. Yet in truth both the referendum and its outcome had deep roots in British politics. In this article we cast an eye over the history of Britain's relationship with the EU, which has long been marked by a mixture of awkwardness and successful influence. We trace the origins of the referendum in long-run tensions between, and within, the political parties, and in the lukewarm public support for European integration. We also examine more contingent, short-term factors relating to the referendum campaign itself. We conclude by commenting on the divisions exposed by the vote along lines of geography, education, class and wealth, and suggest that reconciling these with the continuing tensions in the party landscape make a clean and speedy exit from the EU unlikely

Brexit · Economics · European union · International trade · Political science · European and International Law Studies

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