This lecture will discuss the various ways British citizens envision the UK’s future relationship with the EU, and more broadly, their visions for the UK’s role within a changing European and global geopolitical context. Kaye will argue that despite his desire to ‘reset’ relations with the EU, Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s hands are tied by the twin manacles of exceptionalism and chauvinism. The new Labour Government has repeatedly promised to ‘reset’ the UK’s relationship with the EU. However, opinion polls show that the UK public continues to be divided on exactly what form a closer relationship with the EU should take. Thematic and narrative analysis of data collected through guided interviews, conducted with forty-one individuals between December 2023 and November 2024, reveals that voters are increasingly (re-)considering their policy preferences towards the EU.  The ongoing wars in the Ukraine and the Middle East, the election of Donald Trump in the United States, the UK’s slow economic growth and a perceived global migration crisis significantly frame how voters are imagining the future of the UK in Europe. At the same time, pre-Brexit era narratives persist, with many voters continuing to hold a Churchillian view of the UK’s international and European responsibilities, and a sense that irrespective of Brexit, the UK will continue to be an ‘awkward partner’ to Europe.

About the speaker

Mark Anthony Kaye is a third year PhD candidate (European & Area Studies) at the University of Portsmouth. Funded by the South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership (SCDTP), Mark also works as the Media Coordinator at the Centre for European and International Studies Research (CEISR).