Möller, Α. & Oliver, Τ. (2014) “Greater attention should be paid to the consequences of a ‘Brexit’ for the EU and other states around the world, not just the UK“, LSE EUROPP Blog, 01 September.
The UK’s EU membership is likely to be a key issue in the 2015 British general election campaign: a point underlined by the defection last week of the Conservative MP Douglas Carswell to UKIP. Almut Möller and Tim Oliver write that while the issue is of obvious significance within the UK, a potential ‘Brexit’ is also extremely important for other states within the EU and across the world. Presenting insights from a comprehensive report on the views within 26 separate states to the UK leaving the EU, they note that the way Britain’s EU debate is perceived across the world will have an important role in shaping the country’s future relationship with Europe.
The defection of Douglas Carswell MP from the Conservatives to UKIP means the forthcoming Clacton by-election will once again bring to the fore debates about whether the UK should or should not stay in the European Union. The by-election’s debate, like so much of the UK’s debate about the EU, will focus on what a British exit from the EU – AKA ‘a Brexit’ – could mean for the UK.
But it would not just be the UK affected by such a move. When looked at from outside the UK, a decision by the UK to stay in or leave the EU is not simply one about what is good or bad for the UK. Instead it becomes a question of how such a move could change the wider politics of the EU and Europe, and the relations non-EU countries such as the United States or Japan have with the UK and Europe.
Relevant posts:
- McCormick, J. (2014) “The Meaning of a British Exit from the European Union“, LSE EUROPP, 29 July.
- Tzogopoulos, G. (2014) “Britain Outside Europe? The Greek View, Athens will only have to lose with Brexit“, IP Journal, German Council on Foreign Relations, 25 June.
- Oliver, T. (2014) “A ‘Brexit’ would have important implications at the European and international levels“, LSE EUROPP, 24 June.