Rule Britannia: Brexit and the End of Empire

Description

Books on Brexit explaining how and why parts of Britain voted to leave the European Union are falling hot off the press. Some promise the full story of the political manoeuvring that got us to this point, others promise to make sense of the vote, with a couple focusing on the supposed evils of immigration and Islam. In Rule Britainnia, Danny Dorling and Sally Tomlinson tell a different story. They argue that the EU referendum was part of a last gasp of empire working its way out of the British psyche. It is a view of empire largely based on myth and nostalgia. Dorling and Tomlinson are not arguing for any particular position, but suggest that whatever the next year brings Britain will be much diminished by the process of trying to leave the EU, and that there is no welcoming Empire, Commonwealth, or other set of countries, ready to quickly embrace new trading relationships with us. They do, however, recognise the potential to reshape a post-Brexit Britain, assuming that the UK can accept a world order not based on the past. Praise......Page 2 Title Page......Page 3 Dedication......Page 4 Contents......Page 5 List of figures and tables......Page 6 Acknowledgements......Page 8 Introduction......Page 11 Chapter 1: Why Brexit?......Page 30 Chapter 2: Britain’s immigrant origins......Page 46 Chapter 3: From empire to Commonwealth......Page 78 Chapter 4: High inequality and ignorant politicians......Page 112 Chapter 5: The fantasy and future of free trade......Page 151 Chapter 6: How not to treat immigrants......Page 180 Chapter 7: Imperially rooted education and bigotry......Page 218 Chapter 8: A land of hope and glory?......Page 258 Chapter 9: Why not Brexit?......Page 287 Index......Page 315 About the authors......Page 332 Copyright......Page 334