On the 23rd of June 2016, 17,410,742 people voted to leave the European Union and 16,141,241 voted to stay. Since then, Brexit has been difficult to ignore: consuming and, at times, devastating the landscape of British politics. Political parties, Parliament, the Courts, the Monarchy, the peace settlement in Northern Ireland and the Union itself have all suffered collateral damage.

Dean Acheson once said: ‘Britain had lost an empire but not yet gained a role’. It turns out that our role is to argue about Europe.

In this lecture, I want to try and explain what has happened with Brexit and why. Putting Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage to one side, I want to use Brexit to talk about the historical and political drivers shaping Britain today and into the future.

Andrew Hindmoor is Professor of Politics and Head of Department at the Department of Politics and International Relations, The University of Sheffield.

Andrew completed a PhD at the London School of Economics in 1996. He has lectured at the London School of Economics, Durham University, the University of Exeter and the University of Queensland. He is Editor of the journal Political Studies and Associate Editor of the journal New Political Economy. His research and teaching interests include British politics, political economy, public policy and rational choice theory.

Professor Hindmoor’s latest book is 12 Days: the Making of Modern Britain.  For an overview of the book listen to the ‘History Hit’ Podcast, October 2019.

CFLD Hall, Schwarzman College, Level B1

Tsinghua University students, faculty, and staff register by scanning the QR code. Attendees must show their confirmed reservation and valid Tsinghua University ID to access this event. Attendees will be admitted to Schwarzman College on condition that they adhere to all building and event policies. This event is not open to members of the media and will be held off the record. No attributions or descriptions of this event may be published or shared online without the written consent of both Tsinghua University and Schwarzman College. This lecture will be given in English