Dr Ben Wellings, Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at Monash University. “Brexit, English Nationalism and the Anglosphere” .jpg)
“Perhaps the greatest threat a Brexit poses to Australia is the potential disruption to a relationship with the EU that at last appears to be on a decent footing.” Ben’s presentation was timely as this week Brexit takes real shape with Theresa May, Prime Minister of the UK scheduled to write to the EU on Wednesday 29th March. This commences the 2 year process as set in the EU Treaty. From 2019 UK will no longer being a part of the EU after 6 years membership which underpins 44 years of UK foreign policy. One clear observation was with regard to leadership given the complete absence of a plan (by all parties) as they were not anticipating winning. Ben highlighted the awkward and uncertain nature of the English people themselves, and observed that the UK is loosening at its national seams. A map showed this divide, with Scotland, Northern Ireland, London, and Welsh speaking Wales all voting to stay with the EU. The vote to leave correlates with areas experiencing economic deprivation and high levels of migration (Henning and Dorling 2016). Capturing the depth of Ben’s presentation is difficult given the word limit, however members are encouraged to read the following article which provides a comprehensive summary of what was covered by Ben, with particular focus on Australia – |
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