This book provides the first evaluation of the three Conservative administrations which have been affected, shaped and largely determined by the age of Brexit.It breaks new ground by collectively analysing the Cameron, May and Johnson administrations in an era of political and social shock and disruption, caused by the phenomenon of Brexit. As an edited collection, the project brings experts together who explain the complexities of ideas, leadership, votes, policy areas and territorial politics in an accessible and concise fashion. As a collection of essays, the project does not prosecute a single thesis, bar the fact that the phenomenon of Brexit has affected, shaped and largely determined the politics of these Conservative administrations and wider UK society. There is broad coverage of leadership, elections, public policy and territorial questions and contributors consider the continuities and discontinuities in Conservative Party ideas and political action in their respective policy areas.
Author(s): Matt Beech, Simon Lee
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 347
City: Cham
Also edited by Matt Beech and Simon Lee
Acknowledgements
The Centre for British Politics
Contents
Notes on Contributors
1 Introduction
References
Part I Ideas, Leadership and Elections
2 Conservative Party Ideology in the Age of Brexit
Introduction
Conservative Intellectual Traditions in the Age of Brexit
A Plurality of Traditions Within a Broad Church
Conclusion
References
3 Prime Ministerial Leadership in the Age of Brexit
References
4 The General Elections: 2015, 2017, 2019
Introduction
The 2015 General Election
The 2017 General Election
The 2019 General Election
References
5 The EU Referendum and British Politics
Context
The Campaign
The Vote
Political Significance
Conclusion
References
6 Parliament and the Constitution
The Changing Relationships
Challenges to the Westminster Model
Lost Control of a Majority
Lost Control of the Timetable
Lost Control of Policy
Lost Control of Ministerial Responsibility
Constitutional Consequences
References
Part II Continuity and Change in Public Policy
7 Two Steps Backwards: UK Economic Policy in the Ages of Austerity and Brexit, 2015–2020
Introduction
Austerity Phase Four: Economic Policy Under David Cameron and George Osborne
A Failure to Reset: Economic Policy Under Theresa May and Philip Hammond
The Reset Delivered: Economic Policy Under Boris Johnson and Sajid Javid
Conclusion: A Lost Decade for UK Economic Policy and Performance
References
8 Conservative Governments and Education Policy in the Age of Brexit, 2015 to 2020
Introduction
Political Actors and Machinery of Government
Primary: Consolidation and Consensus
Secondary: Meritocracy or Democracy?
Tertiary Education: Competing Priorities
Financing and Funding of Education
An Ideational Shift
Conclusion
References
9 The Submerged Welfare State: Health and Social Care Policy in England from 2015 to 2020
Introduction
Less-Than-Accountable Care
Financial Instability
The Health Policy-Outcomes Gap
Brexit Rhetoric and False Promises
Conclusion
References
10 Conservative Welfare Policies: Ideational Oscillation in the Age of Brexit
Introduction
Discontinuity of Personnel
Continuity in Purpose and Key Policies and Programmes
Towards One Nation: An Ideational Oscillation
Recipients of Social Security Policies and a Rhetorical Oscillation
Indicative Achievements and Criticisms
Conclusion
References
11 Consistently Inconsistent? Assessing UK Climate Action in the Age of Brexit
Introduction
The Referendum Campaigns
The Aftermath
Levels of Ambition
EU-Level Policy Mechanisms
UNFCC Negotiations
Conclusion
References
12 British Defence Policy and Brexit: Finding Stability During a Period of Uncertainty
Introduction
EU? No. NATO? Yes.
What Does a 2% Annual Defence Budget Increase Mean in Real Terms?
Clarity and Carriers
The UK Still Tied to Europe
Conclusion
References
13 Foreign Policy and International Development from Cameron to Johnson
Introduction
Continuity and Discontinuity
Global Britain
The European Union
The Middle East and North Africa
Russia
China
Hong Kong & Xinjiang
The US and Special Relationship
International Development
Conclusion
References
Part III Four Nation Politics
14 A Much Misgoverned Nation: England in the Age of Brexit
Introduction: A Not so Secret People
The Condition of England and the Irrelevance of Brexit
England and British Nationalism
England Under David Cameron: The ‘Devolution Revolution’ that Never Was
England Under Theresa May: British Dream, English Stagnation
England Under Boris Johnson: British Nationalism Revisited
Conclusion
References
15 Scotland, Conservatism and the British Union, 2015–2020
Introduction
Electoral Divergence in a Disunited United Kingdom 2015–2020
The Paradox of Unionism: The Future of the Multinational UK as a ‘Partnership of Equals’
Scotland and Brexit: A ‘Special Deal’?
Scotland the British Union Under the Johnson Government
Conclusion
References
16 Wales and the Conservative Government, 2015–20
Introduction
Welsh Conservative Leadership in Government, 2015–2020
The Conservative Government and the Welsh Devolution ‘Settlement’
Brexit and Wales
The Electoral Consequences
Conclusion
References
17 Alienation and Destabilization: Northern Ireland in the Age of Brexit
Alienation and Negotiation: The DUP and the Conservatives
Destabilizing Nationalism: Brexit and the Return of Border Politics
The Northern Ireland Protocol
Conclusion
References
Index
