The meaning of Brexit and the future of the Union

Abstract

The referendum of 23 June 2016 on the UK’s continued membership of the European Union produced a narrow but clear majority for ‘Leave’. But the campaign’s organisers had no clear idea of how to proceed, throwing the country and the governing Conservative party into chronic confusion. Between June 2016 and July 2024, the UK had five Tory prime ministers. Drawing on recent books and articles, the first section of this essay shows how ‘Brexit’ was a slogan in search of a strategy, with the Tories unable to agree on major issues such as the ‘control of borders’ and the maintenance of the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement in Northern Ireland. The second section explores the struggle over the unity of the United Kingdom between Tory centralisers and the devolved governments who wanted the powers repatriated from Brussels to be returned to them. This article arises from the Elie Kedourie Memorial Lecture, delivered 14 November 2023.