Fractured Union: Politics, Sovereignty and the Fight to Save the UK

The question of the United Kingdom’s survival, once taken for granted, looms large in British politics. Mike Kenny's book uncovers the roots of today’s crisis, revealing MPs’ and civil servants’ assumptions in their understanding of the Union, and profound pessimism within politics about its long-term viability. Why has the political class struggled to engage productively with devolution? Has English voters’ disenchantment with a detached central government influenced how politicians and bureaucrats regard the UK’s future? How have seismic events fuelled tensions between Westminster and devolved administrations, from the SNP’s election and independence referendum to Brexit and Covid? And what now? Prof. Kenny offers a vivid account of the gradual loss of British unity, illuminating the forces and pressures now shaping the future of both nations and peoples. As nationalism rises across Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England, this book issues a sharp challenge to those who believe in a united kingdom: deliver better, more responsive government―or risk the UK falling apart.

The book will be discussed by Dr Giada Lagana (Leverhulme ECR Fellow and Lecturer in Politics at Cardiff University); and by Prof. Daniel Wincott (Blackwell Professor of Law and Society at Cardiff University).  

All Welcomed!