The UK's Road Back to Europe

Despite the efforts of leading party spokespersons in the UK to marginalise Brexit as an issue of public discussion, it shows no sign of disappearing from the political agenda any time soon. Meanwhile, a significant case can be made for the view that almost regardless of future developments, it will remain a significant issue simply because of the importance of Europe, economically and strategically, to the UK. EU-UK relations are ongoing; therefore, Brexit is a process not an event. For example, the 2021 EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement has established organisational machinery for permanent negotiations on trade and other matters between the UK and the EU and has to be reviewed every five years. Brexit has had significant consequences for the integration of the United Kingdom: consequences that are still playing themselves out through the events surrounding the Northern Ireland Protocol and the prospects for a second referendum on Scottish independence. It has given rise to a lively academic and media debate on the meaning and significance of ‘Englishness’. If ‘the Brexit experiment’ involving the UK’s almost complete withdrawal from the institutional frameworks of the EU, comes to be perceived as having been a failure, then there is little doubt that the forces, within the UK, that have never reconciled themselves to Brexit, will grow stronger. The purpose of this book is therefore to assess the strength of these forces and whether a road back to EU membership is likely to be taken any time soon.