From Broke To Brexit: Britain's Lost Decade

by Michael Burton

Overview

Perhaps the most extraordinary period in modern British history, the years between the Great Recession and Brexit have often been dubbed ‘the lost decade’ because of the economic and political turmoil caused by those two great events. Michael Burton outlines how the first led to the second, assisted by a rare confluence of other, often unrelated, social and political factors that delivered the shock Leave verdict in the EU referendum of 2016. These included the longstanding grievances of voters in former industrial areas feeling left behind by globalism, stagnant incomes after the recession, austerity, the rise of social media, the refugee and Eurozone crisis in Europe, the deep split in the Conservative and Labour parties over the EU and rising wealth inequalities.  The author also charts the chaotic political landscape that ended in the final Brexit deal. This book is ideal for the general reader as well as for students of politics, history and economics needing a concise andwell-explained account of this turbulent period in British history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783030818890
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan
Publication date:	09/30/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	444 KB

About the Author

Michael Burton is a longstanding commentator on British public policy and the author of two previous Palgrave Macmillan books on politics, The Politics of Public Sector Reform from Thatcher to the Coalition (2013) and The Politics of Austerity: A Recent History (2016). He is a former editor of the weekly business title The MJ (Municipal Journal) and currently editorial director of its publishers, the Hemming Group.

Table of Contents

Part I: The undercurrents.- Chapter 1 From boom to bust.- Chapter 2 ‘What has the EU ever done for us?’.- Chapter 3 The immigration debate.- Chapter 4 Globalism and ‘the left behind’. Chapter 5 The great faultline: Europe and the Conservatives.- Part II: The catalysts.- Chapter 6: Austerity.- Chapter 7 Cameron opts for a referendum.- Chapter 8 Pulling up the drawbridge.- Chapter 9 The disrupters.- Chapter 10 The recovery that wasn’t.- Chapter 11 Labour turns to populism.- Chapter 12  Dress rehearsal for the referendum.- Part III: The brave new world.- Chapter 13 Road map to the referendum.- Chapter 14 The referendum.- Chapter 15 The merry months of May.- Chapter 16: The gamble that failed.- Chapter 17 Brexit unravels.- Chapter 18 Boris and the Brexiteers.- Chapter 19 Aftermath.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

‘This insightful account analyses the socio-economic undercurrents that linked the Great Recession to Brexit during one of the most dramatic decades in modern British politics. The book is ideal for the general reader or student wanting to understand the background to the UK’s departure from the European Union and the landslide election of the Boris Johnson government.’ (— Jackie Sadek, Chief Operating Officer, UK Regeneration, and former Whitehall adviser)

‘In his chronicle of one of the most turbulent times in modern British politics, the author identifies the cause and effect of the seismic changes of the decade. This book is an unbiased, informed and important assessment of ten years that have changed the nation.’(— David Godfrey, Visiting Fellow, Localis think tank (UK), and former UK ministerial adviser)