The Economics and Politics of Brexit: The Realignment of British Public Life

by Stephen Davies

We are now living in a new era of British politics, the tenth such since the English invented modern party politics in 1671. How did this come about? That is the subject of this book. The story told here is that we should not think of Brexit as an act of inexplicable national self-harm, a moment of collective madness, or as something that makes no sense. Rather it was the outcome of a change in the way politics was structured, of a kind that had happened before. This is the process of realignment, the replacement of the old aligning issue by a new one and the working out of this in electoral and party politics. This book lays out the theory of realignment and complements it with historical illustrations. It then uses this theory to tell the story of Britain’s newest realignment. Stephen Davies, a Senior Fellow at AIER, is the Head of Education at the Institute for Economic Affairs in London. The American Institute for Economic Research in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, was founded in 1933 as the first independent voice for sound economics in the United States. Today it publishes ongoing research, hosts educational programs, publishes books, sponsors interns and scholars, and is home to the world-renowned Bastiat Society and the highly respected Sound Money Project. The American Institute for Economic Research is a 501c3 public charity.

Genres: Politics

292 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2020

Reviews

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don’t let the B-word in the title put you off, this isn’t really a book about Brexit. Davies argues that we are undergoing a realignment of politics – not just in the UK but globally – of a type that occurs every 50 to 100 years.

The central ‘aligning issue’ has, he believes, shifted from economics where it has been since roughly the 1920s to nationalism and culture. The 2016 referendum result and more so the 2019 general election result are mere symptoms of this which has been gradually happening since the early 2000s.

It’s an interesting idea and well presented, however, it already feels a little out of date as in the wake of Covid-19 economic issues seem likely to be pushed back to the fore.

[Clive Soffe · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Book That Properly Explains the Changing Political Climate

A coherent and well researched book looking at the reason for Brexit and the failures of the Establishment. Well worth a read.

[Ethan Ahrend · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a political science-y book I thought this was pretty alright. I'm indifferent. I thought it was a little hard to get through and skipped a good few sections. European political science enthusiasts would love this book.