Speaker: Professor Mike Kenny

Abstract

British politics has been riven by the result of the EU Referendum of June 2016. But what does Brexit mean for the way in which the UK should itself be governed? This lecture explores this question, focusing in particular upon some of the increasingly apparent strains in its internal territorial constitution. It situates the conflicts associated with the Northern Irish border and the devolved governments in a historical perspective, and seeks to explain why territorial issues have become so deeply politicised in the 21st century – and now in the English heartland, as well as beyond it. And it makes the case for a new blend of self-government and shared government across the UK, and more place-sensitive public policies, if the domestic union is to withstand the current crisis in British politics.