A Short History of Brexit

Pelican Books #26

by Kevin H. O'Rourke

A succinct, expert guide to how we got to Brexit

After all the debates, manoeuvrings, recriminations and exaltations, Brexit is upon us. But, as Kevin O'Rourke writes, Brexit did not emerge out of nowhere: it is the culmination of events that have been under way for decades and have historical roots stretching back well beyond that. Brexit has a history.

O'Rourke, one of the leading economic historians of his generation, explains not only how British attitudes to Europe have evolved, but also how the EU's history explains why it operates as it does today - and how that history has shaped the ways in which it has responded to Brexit. Why are the economics, the politics and the history so tightly woven together? Crucially, he also explains why the question of the Irish border is not just one of customs and trade, but for the EU goes to the heart of what it is about. The way in which British, Irish and European histories continue to interact with each other will shape the future of Brexit - and of the continent.

Calm and lucid, A Short History of Brexit rises above the usual fray of discussions to provide fresh perspectives and understanding of the most momentous political and economic change in Britain and the EU for decades.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, History, Economics, Ebooks, Law, Historical

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 31, 2019

About the author

Kevin O'Rourke is Chichele Professor of Economic History at Oxford, and a Fellow of All Souls College. Between 2014 and 2018 he was Research Director of the Centre for Economic Policy Research, a network of 1100 researchers in universities throughout Europe. He is a member of the Royal Irish Academy and a Fellow of the British Academy.

Reviews

[Margitte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Outdated for now, yes unbelievable, but still a quick introduction of the elements driving this decision by Brits. The book certainly improves the lay person's insight into this historical event.

[Michael Huang]

The in-and-outs of Brexit — not really a subject worth learning. The oversimplified version is this: cakeism. The British politicians want the benefits (e.g., free trade) but not the associated commitment (e.g., giving up some control).

[Athan Tolis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unashamedly from the Remainer angle, but genuinely trying to be objective, author Kevin O’Rourke argues very convincingly that Theresa May’s (three-times rejected, we now know) deal was 100% motivated by the need to skirt around issues raised by the need to meet three incompatible goals, two of which relate to Northern Ireland:

1. The need for the UK to “take back control” of its immigration policy (and thus leave the Single Market, which dictates the four freedoms to move are indivisible)
2. The desire to keep the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland open
3. The desire to avoid having to impose customs controls between Ireland, the island, and the rest of the UK

The argument is built over some 300 pages, over which the reader is exposed to just enough British history, European Integration history and background on Free Trade Areas, VAT areas and Customs Unions to fully understand why the deal was structured (p. 278) on a “Jersey minus” template: the UK as a whole was to stay in a customs union with the EU (not just for goods, avoiding both the EU “red line” against cherry-picking among the four freedoms and the UK parliament’s decision against the UK and Northern Ireland being separate customs territories), while Northern Ireland alone was to remain within the Single Market.

The book went to press before the final rejection of the deal and before the extension from March 29th to October 31st, but that’s fine because its objective is rather narrow.

Not only is this objective 100% achieved, but I would argue that the book remains great read and a tremendous resource even now that Theresa May’s deal is a footnote in UK and EU history.

For that, I’m fully prepared to pardon the book its rather misleading title.

[Tom Richards · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent overview of the historical development of the EU, particularly as it applies to Britain and Ireland. Also the best explanation I have yet seen of the difference between a customs union and a free trade area, including a discussion on how VAT works in the EU. The trilemma of a) no border in Ireland (article 49 of the WA) b) no border between Britain and Northern Ireland (article 50 of the WA) c) leaving the customs union (as per the Lancaster House speech) is well-covered (in essence, you can pick any two, but you can't have all three).

[Holly Law · Rating 4 out of 5]

I need to re-read the final two chapters to truly get my head around Brexit to the point I could feel confident discussing it in some detail, but, this book has allowed me to finally feel like I almost understand what’s going on!

[WW · Rating 4 out of 5]

Today seems timely to finish this. The book ends in December 2018, and in an already chaotic process, doesn’t even describe the pandemonium that is going on right now

[Ron Peters · Rating 3 out of 5]

O’Rourke’s book makes for fascinating but discouraging reading. By the end I found it impossible to believe that a happy conclusion to Brexit is possible. The Brexiteers have, all along, believed that, either: a) they can have their cake and eat it too (maintaining total access to European markets while ignoring the trade laws and standards of the EU and setting up one-off deals and tariffs with any nation they please), or b) they will crash out of Brexit entirely and still come up, magically, smelling like roses. Meanwhile, what on earth will happen in Ireland and Northern Ireland if they are forced to reinstate hard borders? Nothing good. O’Rourke gives good, but not excessive, historic background on Britain’s attitudes toward free trade and customs unions and good, but again not excessive, economic data to demonstrate points about more theoretical economic points. It’s well written, as balanced as such a book can be, and even includes a certain amount humour – much-needed given the generally abysmal topic.

[Oana Popescu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting account of issues underlying fundamental British expectations and politics, as explained from an economist’s point of view.
The fact that the EU was created for peace purposes, not just political ones and the fact that Brexit is about borders and taking back control of those borders are some of the things that get discussed in the book, offering a better understanding of why Britain behaves as it does, politically speaking.
I found it quite interesting that the author emphasizes the importance of the Republic of Ireland and its historical background in relation to England and Northern Ireland, pointing out the country’s attempts to get independence and autonomy.

[Dominik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Po przeczytaniu (właściwie wysłuchaniu) tej książki znacznie lepiej rozumiem, czemu Brytyjczycy zagłosowali za Brexitem i dlaczego mają z nim taki problem. Ciekawe teraz jak skończy się ta historia (książka doprowadza akcję tylko do końca 2018 roku).

[Mark Mills · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good primer on the economic history underlying Britain's place in Europe

[Keshav · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rich historical account of Britain's relationship with the continent. If only MPs had as much clarity. (Extended review to follow)

[Renate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bought and read after seeing a recommendation from Sabine Weyand on Twitter. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to know how and why the UK joined the EU. Discovered some surprising facts.

[Fred Cheyunski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Possible Causes and Influencing Factors - After looking through a number of possible sources, I selected this book as it seemed that it would help explain Brexit origins and broader ramifications. While I had read Roger’s "9 Lessons in Brexit" which gives a good account of potential impacts and implications (see my review), I wanted further background on its possible causes and influencing factors.

Fortunately, O’Rourke’s text provided me what I was after and was quite timely as I was reading, then writing this Review as PM Boris Johnson is embroiled with the EU and the UK Parliament over a Brexit agreement.

The book consists of an Introduction, 11 chapters, and a final section: (1) The Origins of Supranational Europe; (2) Nineteenth Century Legacies, (3) The Path to Rome; (4) Brentry; (5) The Single Market Programme; (6) Ireland, Europe, and the Good Friday Agreement; (7) Europe and the Irish Economic Miracle; (8) Brexit; (9) Explaining Brexit; (10) The Aftermath; (11) Negotiations, and Envoi. There is also Bibliography, a Notes section, and an Index. Even as a “short history,” the text numbers almost 300 pages and covers up until its publication in January 2019 (Kindle edition).

While it was helpful and interesting to get the ‘backstory’ about the way the antecedents and differences related to Brexit evolved from the time of the Industrial Revolution, my favorite parts had to do with the referendum and the basis for negotiation after that point ---see my reviews of Sharma’s "The Rise and Fall of Nations: Forces of Change in the Post-Crisis World" as well as Cohen and DeLong’s "Concrete Economics: The Hamilton Approach to Economic Growth and Policy" for wider views. As the author states, “Leave only won by a small majority . . . “As he points out 67% of Scotts, 55.8% of Northern Ireland, 96% of Gibraltar, 59.9% of Londoners vote to remain, yet ‘Leave’ wins by 51.9% vs. 48.1%. Out of 33.6 million votes, 635,000 made the difference. In terms of the outcome, O'Rourke discusses the various possible reasons such as “One could imagine explanations that are both international and cultural – the systematic use of the Internet by Russia to destabilize Western democracies, the spread of fake news by far-right organizations such as Breitbart News, international networks of populist politicians and pundits, or the abuse of personal data by companies such as Cambridge Analytica (which worked for both the Trump Campaign and Leave.EU)”----see my reviews of "The Mueller Report" and Stephens-Davidowitz’s "Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are."

Never the less, the results of the vote put the UK in a situation where frictionless trade and “taking back control” were both sought by the Government, yet mutually exclusive (no ‘”’cakism’ or having cake and eating it too!” would be possible at least according to the EU). Efforts to secure Brexit and meet EU requirements to address EU citizens in the UK, and meeting UK Financial obligations progressed, leaving the Irish border question to be settled (curious since virtually nothing about Ireland and other such complications was mentioned during referendum). As O'Rourke indicates “The Irish – and EU – view was that guarantees were needed at this stage that would ensure that there would be no hard border in Ireland, irrespective of whatever trade deal the British and the EU would agree at a later stage.” He goes on to articulate that “The only way to avoid a hard border was for either the UK as a whole, or just Northern Ireland, to remain, de facto, in the EU’s customs union, Single Market and VAT regime.”

The book could have benefited from a timeline and summary tables. However, although the saga continues and many questions remain to be addressed (which would be a shortcoming of any book trying to deal with unfolding events), O'Rourke’s book does provide a helpful contribution in beginning to understand the evolution of this very complicated and contentious situation.

[Jodie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent coverage of the foundations of UK-EU relationships, and whilst the author shows certain bias towards the remain campaign, his presentation of Brexit negotiations up till the point of publishing were illuminating for a less-educated reader on the matter. I hope he will consider a follow-up book on the latter half of the Brexit ordeal which has since occurred.

[Daria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reads like an action-packed apocalyptic drama. Impossible to put down even despite complex references and language bordering on scientific. There is a sense of imminent catastrophe all through he book, and it is sadly based on facts. Hard to be impersonal about Brexit having read this.

[Xavier University Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Succinct and helpful timeline of Brexit. This book gives a history of the event, looking at British and European history and current events. The author makes the book interesting and engaging.

[Daryl Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learned a lot about Brexit that you don't hear much living in the USA.

[Neil Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kevin O’Rourke, as a prominent Oxford Professor of Economic History and renowned scholar, is uniquely qualified from a Professional viewpoint to author a work on the history of Brexit (history to date, that is). As a Citizen of Europe, he is also well qualified, born of an Irish Diplomat Father and Danish mother, educated in Switzerland, and co-resident in Ireland, the UK and France.

The story of Brexit is not a recent one dating back to the years leading up to the 2016 referendum; Brexit is an older story than that; Brexit has a history. British unease and ambivalence with and towards Europe date back to the foundation of the Post-War European project and beyond. The Colonial legacy of Britain and it’s former position in World trade underpin some of the key sticking points in implementing Brexit we see today, namely the subtle differences between a Customs Union and a Free Trade area. O’Rourke harks back to the era of the Corn Laws and takes us on an intricate journey through the evolution of Trade Policy during the heyday of the Empire to understand this.

Entering the Second half of the 20th Century we see Labour, not the Conservatives, as the Eurosceptic party, with Mrs Thatcher favoring closer European economic integration for market reasons, as EC membership promised to deliver Capitalist-friendly benefits such as free trade and a single market benefitting business, with unimpeded capital flows reaping rich rewards for the City Of London. But the Tory love-story with Europe soon turned sour with Thatcher unable to stomach the social reform and surrender of certain autonomies to Transnational institutions that accompanied the goodies of the great European market. Britain realized already back then that the cake couldn’t be had and eaten, and so erupted the decades-long Tory Civil War over Europe. Labour on the other hand swung over to being the Pro-Europe party, although in the vacillating and lukewarm attitude to the EU of its current leader Jeremy Corbyn we clearly see the old Labour anti-Europe bias of Tony Benn, Michael Foot et al. Corbin is after all a throwback to 1970’s Socialism and little more than a tribute band to Leon Trotsky.

O’Rourke examines the most recent ingredients in the soup of disillusionment that led up to Brexit - the Globalization, inequality and austerity of the post-2008 World order. Here we begin to see the same elements taking shape in Britain that in the US gave us Trump. O’ Rourke is careful though not to follow the simplistic road of attributing the Brexit phenomenon solely to the same factors that led to Trump’s election in America, for Brexit is a far older, complex story than that.

O’Rourke skips over the Brexit campaign itself - as he points out, there is already a wealth of voluminous literature existing on that. Instead he focuses on the torturous post-referendum negotiations with the EU, diving deeply into the Irish element and the trilemma of the Backstop, all set against the twists and turns of May’s disastrously called election of 2017 and the Parliamentary wrangling that bemused the World in the latter half of 2018.

Originally penned for a French audience in an attempt to explain the Brexit phenomenon to them, O’Rourke’s tone reflects the bewilderment, bemusement and despair seen by observers outside Britain at this self-inflicted shot in the foot by a Nation they believed to be one of their most enduring allies and friends. At the same time, O’Rourke is respectful and diplomatic in trying to see things from the UK perspective, and goes to great pains in explaining how Britain was in effect hostage to a certain historical inevitably as well as a victim of uncontrollable Global forces in arriving at where she finds herself today.

And so O’Rourke ends his history of Brexit in December 2018. And yet, as we know, the story is far from being written, this is a mere chapter in a history whose end is impossible to predict. In 100 years time Historians will write of how events eventually settled down and the outcomes that followed as being inevitable. Right now though nothing is inevitable. At the time of writing this review the Conservative party stands on the cusp of foisting a cavorting charlatan on the Country to succeed Theresa May as Prime Minister in the person of Boris Johnson, an individual who sees himself as a Churchillian figure a la ‘the moment maketh the man’ but who is, in fact, uniquely unqualified for the job, whilst in the wings an Opposition in disarray offers an inept, laughable and frightening alternative. How this bodes for the task ahead is worrying. If not the darkest hour of the Sceptered Isle, then a very dull one at the least.

[Vladislav Burda · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is intriguing due to its Irish perspective. While Brexit's disruption in the UK is well known, its impact on Ireland is less so. Kevin O’Rourke captures this brilliantly. The UK was in poor shape when it "shot itself in the foot" with Brexit, whereas Ireland, thriving at the time, was blindsided by the news, causing anxiety for years.

The book is fact-rich, shedding light on lesser-known details. I'll highlight a few that piqued my interest:

1. Two of the four UK countries, Scotland and Northern Ireland, voted to remain in the EU, while England and Wales chose to leave.
2. Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory, also voted, with 99% opposing Brexit.
3. The book covers the negotiations in depth: ten chapters on preparation and history, one on the negotiation process, and one on the post-Brexit crisis. A key takeaway: “Before negotiating with others, you must first know what you want.”
4. The EU started in 1950 with six countries: Benelux, France, Germany, and Italy. It took the UK 23 years to join, finally becoming a member on January 1, 1973, a move humorously dubbed "Bentry" by the author. Just two years later, the UK held a referendum, voting to stay in the EU in 1975.
5. The UK had two main concerns about joining the EU:
a) They often compared the EU to the British Commonwealth, a group of 56 countries, most former British colonies.
b) They didn't want to hurt close partners like New Zealand, which exported a large portion of its butter, cheese, and lamb to the UK. Joining the EU meant the UK had to impose tariffs on those imports.
6. Three key UK trade partners at the time were Ireland, Denmark, and Norway. While Ireland and Denmark joined the EU with the UK, Norway opted out due to a referendum.
7. Portugal and Spain joined later, in 1986, needing to catch up afterward.
8. Interestingly, Brexit and Trump's election both occurred in 2016. The Netflix documentary *The Great Hack* (released the same year as this book) explains how Cambridge Analytica influenced these events.

The book was published in August 2019, less than a year before Boris Johnson’s cabinet signed the Withdrawal Agreement. Given how much remains unresolved, it feels like a sequel is needed to address the ongoing story of this politically damaging move in recent UK history.

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 5 out of 5]

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/a-short-history-of-brexit-from-brentry-to-backstop-by-kevin-orourke/

Because of its late 2019 timing, the book misses the excitement of the end of the chase – the hasty just-before-Christmas deal of 2019, followed by the Johnson and then Truss governments’ attempts to wriggle out of their own commitments, ending, at least for now, with Sunak’s deal (his only significant achievement in two years at the top).

But it makes up for that with a significant amount of detail about how the EU was set up in the first place, and the UK’s role outside and inside the process, a story which is centred on France and its relationship with Germany and to a lesser extent the UK, and therefore tends to be neglected by British commentators. He also goes in detail into the economic history of Ireland and why EU membership became fundamental to the Irish state. I think that both of these elements are possibly educational for readers who consumed only the mainstream (ie non-Irish) Anglophone media during the process while it was happening.

He doesn’t waste much time on David Cameron’s attempt to renegotiate the UK’s membership of the EU, but looks in some detail at the referendum result (which he feels was overdetermined; I tend to agree), and then does his best to explain Theresa May’s negotiation process. I still find it difficult to believe how pathetic the UK’s approach was in those early stages; May was ill-served by her treacherous and stupid ministers, Johnson and Davis, but the failure to come up with a detailed plan for the UK was her fault and her responsibility.

Anyway, the book itself as an important antidote to the UK perspective that Brexit was a purely British political story, in particular presenting the Irish view in its European context.

[C.A. A. Powell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overdoes the economic aspect, but then Kevin O'Rourke admits he is an economist. Rather easily dismissive of the parts Kevin O'Rourke regards as unimportant. Especially the democratic imbalance of the EU inner committee. (No more than a fleeting mention.) Many of the voters in Brexit were not economists. Underplayed the more serious concerns about the none economic aspects of Brexit. Invented words about accidental or unaware English Nationalists. Kevin O'Rourke also mentions that maybe the referendum was called too early. But then I’ve heard people say it had to be done quickly because populism was being fuelled. Brexit has more variables than just economics. (pro-EU or pro-Brexit economics.) They are my gripe parts. To be fair, it is a well-presented and clear read from a mainly pro-EU economic point of view. I’m obviously a Brexit voter and have my own bias. There was much I could not agree with but this book is worth reading and I would recommend it.

[Patrick Coast · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book with extensive economic history condensed into small readable passages. Good insights into history of Europe, EU, economic/political drivers and why the UK has always been a bit different. The book has some stray ideological sentences that weaken it, for instance he ends a chapter about Ireland’s late road to riches by saying the UK unilaterally decided to take away Ireland’s peace and prosperity overnight with Brexit. This is extreme language and an inaccurate forecast. Most of the book is more balanced, and he does proclaim his priors up front, adding a nice personal touch that was unexpected but really rather excellent. To be fair, there’s a lot to be upset about and to face palm over. This book does a great job synthesising the work of economists and historians to give an informed context to this recent madness.

[Ashley Barratt · Rating 4 out of 5]

As Brexit Day draws ever closer I thought I’d get some historical context for the events playing out. This is an accessible read - especially for non British readers - as it is written by an Irish author and directed to a European audience.

British ambivalence to Europe is explained simply and effectively from a historical perspective. The impact of the ongoing relationship with the Commonwealth on British thinking is covered in direct terms.

One concludes wondering what Ted Heath and Harold Wilson would make of today’s events: 50 years later the same questions still arise.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

The question for me was whether O'Rourke could justify rushing this book out rather than just waiting a year or two. Okay, he lays out the possibilities at the end, but it's just gallingly uneven. I think this book is good in parts, not as a whole. O'Rourke is an economic historian and it's quite good on the long background, even if I found some quibbles. But at the end part, the post-referendum stuff, my eyes would often just glaze over, even though I consider myself reasonably well-informed on this.

[Borislav · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent account. The first few chapters offer very insightful historical background to the EU's creation. The author's unique background (half-Irish, half-Danish, high-school in Europe and university education in Ireland and France, subsequently living and teaching at Oxford) offers a very interesting but also highly objective assessment on events up to August 2019. Recommend to anyone still looking for straightforward definitions of "Irish backstop", "Good Friday Agreement", why the border between Ireland and NI became a focal point of negotiations etc.

[Sarah Grant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enlightening read on the facts about Brexit. The author is highly informed on the facts and references roughly 30-40 pages of other work/journalism to back himself up, thus making his work more factual than the usual topic-related stuff. Not being from the EU, this gave me some insight in a straightforward way. However, as I don’t normally read these sorts of books, I found it difficult to finish. It was a bit dull and dreary. Not so much of a holiday read but informative all the same.

[Sonia R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional book! It really delves into the background reasons for all this paranoia, and it makes it easy for the reader to understand why and how we ended up here.
I highly recommend it to anyone wondering about the current political affairs, no matter what level of education or history expertise they have attained!

[Jelle Veldman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book explains everything that caused Brexit, starting straight after the second worldwar. It contains a very clear description of what influence Ireland had on the whole process. Written in a very understandable way. However, I hoped to read more about the events just before the referendum and less about how the UK entered the EU with all treaties around it.

[Ong ZenYe · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author went extra mile to explain many concepts in laymen's terms and this caters to non-specialist readers like me. It would be better if author could explain what austerity is.

Also, I need to read between the lines and google for extra information because some parts of the book lack context.

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

A simple mind who can't even have an opinion beyond some vague angry emotions. The thing is not even done. And there is a delay, like everything governmental, but O'Rourke already got more than he could handle. So here it is: a history about something that is not clear, or even done.