Brexit: Where once was an empire (original) (raw)

Brexit needs to be placed in the context of the United Kingdom’s violent, sometimes revolutionary history since its foundation 300 years ago. What happens after the UK breaks up has been the primary issue ever since the collapse of empire, not Europe as such. There is a creeping constitutional crisis on many fronts, focusing on parliament's prerogatives, the monarchy, the house of lords, the voting system and centralization of everything in London at the expense of the regions. The main political issue, after Scotland's secession and the reunification of Ireland, will be and already is, decentralization from London in England itself--a trend exaggerated by the pandemic and a disastrous 13 years of Tory rule. A new federation for the former UK is likely. Britain is in some ways the most unstable major polity in the world.

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