A new collection of 43 essays edited by Sir Anthony Seldon, honorary historian at 10 Downing Street, aims to reflect on the causes and consequences of Brexit. Yet the phrase 'English nationalism' appears only once in its 600 pages, in a reference to the Daily Mail's line during the 2016 referendum. Despite a fine essay on Scotland by Aileen McHarg, there is no essay on England, and no overview of the tensions within non-metropolitan England where Brexit was won.
English nationalism: the missing piece
This absence matters for understanding both the past and the immediate future. It evades the urgent question: why, when many Leave voters now regard Brexit as a failure, is Nigel Farage still a plausible contender for prime minister? Peter Kellner's essay shows that a third of Leave voters say Brexit has failed, and a quarter of that group blame Farage 'very' much. Yet Farage continues to set the agenda in English and Welsh politics.
The collection does not include a specific essay on Farage, making it like 'a Punch and Judy show without Mr Punch,' according to the reviewer. Jonathan Sumption, in a withering introduction, notes that 'Britain's own ability to exercise control over its own fate is inevitably more limited outside the EU.' Madeleine Sumption adds that immigration rose to record levels after Brexit, failing 'spectacularly to deliver on its clearest promise.'
Economic and political fallout
A Stanford University study finds that by 2025, Brexit had reduced UK GDP by 6% to 8% compared to projections. Investment shrank by 12% to 18%, and employment and productivity fell by 3% to 4%. Pro-Brexit contributors admit disappointment. Conor Burns calls cabinet secretary Simon Case 'lightweight,' while Case himself blames 'muddled thinking, fruitless negotiations, parliamentary quagmire and administrative confusion.' Douglas Carswell concludes: 'We have yet to govern ourselves well.'
Gisela Stuart believes Britain is 'still overshadowed by the ghosts of fifty years of EU membership,' and Paul Stephenson describes the victory as 'bittersweet.' Patrick Minford, who promised a golden age, argues that disruption is short-term and the goal is long-term improvement, but economists Paul Johnson and Robert Johnson counter that 'it seems unlikely that the long term hit to national income will be less than 4 per cent, and it might well be more.'
Identity crisis unaddressed
Remainers also fail to confront the identity crisis behind Brexit. Susan Greenfield acknowledges identity is tied to the vote but only considers it at a cognitive level. The Future of England surveys by Ailsa Henderson and Richard Wyn Jones find that Farage supporters rank 'being English' above 'being a parent' as a marker of identity. These voters are 'deeply conscious of a jarring contrast between past glories and a present brought-low,' and remain dissatisfied despite securing Brexit.
The book, published by Cambridge University Press at £16.99, offers no real reckoning with the nationalist impulses that drove Brexit, leaving the English question unanswered.
