This book examines the seismic impact of Brexit on the British political system, assessing its likely long-term effect in terms of a significantly changed political and constitutional landscape. Starting with the 2015 general election and covering key developments up to "Brexit Day", it shows how Brexit "transformed" British politics. The unprecedented turmoil – two snap elections, three Prime Ministers, the biggest ever defeat for the Government in Parliament, an impressive number of rebellions and reshuffles in Cabinet and repeated requests for a second independence referendum in Scotland – as a result of leaving the EU, calls into question what sort of political system the post-Brexit UK will become. Taking Lijphart’s "Westminster model" as its reference, the book assesses the impact of Brexit along three dimensions: elections and parties; executive–legislative relationships; and the relationship between central and devolved administrations. Based on a wealth of empirical material, including original interviews with key policymakers and civil servants, it focuses on the "big picture" and analytically maps the direction of travel for the UK political system. This book will be of key interest to scholars and students of Brexit, British politics, constitutional, political, and contemporary history, elections and political parties, executive politics, and territorial politics as well as more broadly related practitioners and journalists. Chapters one and two of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND)] 4.0 license. Funded by the University of Trento and the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies.

The United Kingdom has been a member of the European Union for forty three years. Although EU membership has brought numerous indisputable benefits, anti-EU sentiment, simmering for decades, has now reached the point where an upcoming referendum could quite possibly lead to exit from the Union - an enormously topical issue dubbed 'Brexit'. This very timely book addresses the major concerns and uncertainties associated with this looming prospect. Outstanding scholars of British constitutional law and EU law discuss such factors as the impact of EU membership on the UK constitution and the perspectives of the UK's constituent regions, along with numerous practical issues of economics and administration. Specific topics covered include: - the EU and the sovereignty debate; - the impact of Brexit in the devolved United Kingdom; - options available to the UK; - residence rights post-Brexit; - debates over the structure of the referendum; - existing and potential role of jurisprudence (domestic and EU); - environmental law; - negotiating treaties; - judicial protection; - Opt-outs; - EU criminal law; - labour rights; - equal protection; - human rights under the Charter of Fundamental Rights; and - financial and economic governance. With Brexit becoming the largest single issue to affect the United Kingdom's place in the world, this volume is certain to be widely read and referenced in the time before, during, and after the referendum. It will also remain of great value as social, political, and economic events unfold in the post-referendum United Kingdom.

In June 2016, the United Kingdom shocked the world by voting to leave the European Union. As this book reveals, the historic vote for Brexit marked the culmination of trends in domestic politics and in the UK's relationship with the EU that have been building over many years. Drawing on a wealth of survey evidence collected over more than ten years, this book explains why most people decided to ignore much of the national and international community and vote for Brexit. Drawing on past research on voting in major referendums in Europe and elsewhere, a team of leading academic experts analyse changes in the UK's party system that were catalysts for the referendum vote, including the rise of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), the dynamics of public opinion during an unforgettable and divisive referendum campaign, the factors that influenced how people voted and the likely economic and political impact of this historic decision.

This book assesses the consequences of Brexit for the control of illicit trade in tobacco products in the UK and EU. Based on the currently applicable legal framework, it examines the significance of a possible non-application of the acquis communautaire in the UK in matters relating to anti-illicit trade in tobacco legislation. It also analyses the modes of future cooperation between the UK and the EU in this area, as well as possible regulatory scenarios and their consequences. The book comprises six main sections. After the introduction (Section 1), Section 2 discusses the state of play of Brexit and possible outcomes of Article 50 of the Treaty of European Union procedure. Section 3 illustrates the data and trends of illicit tobacco trade in the UK. Section 4 describes the relevant legal (e.g. trade and fiscal measures) and enforcement frameworks in the UK and suggests possible post-Brexit scenarios in control of tobacco illicit trade. Section 5 focuses on the relevance of arrangements between governments and the tobacco industry in the control of illicit trade. Section 6 then analyses the relevance of key EU and global anti-illicit trade initiatives. Lastly, Section 7 the book offers some recommendations and conclusions on how the UK could control illicit trade in tobacco after Brexit.

On 23rd June 2016, the United Kingdom shocked the world by voting to leave the European Union. This short book examines why this happened, examining the historical, economic, political, social and cultural reasons that led to the Brexit vote.