Since Brexit, Britain’s union has grown increasingly European
To buttress a shaky nation, British leaders borrow a continental architecture
BLACKPOOL BEARS little resemblance to Brussels. It has no Tintin, no René Magritte, and sticks of rock in place of fine chocolates. But consider one similarity. Just as the de facto capital of the European Union lies symbolically between Paris and Berlin, so Blackpool is roughly midway between Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh and London. It was the ideal place, therefore, for an experiment in the government of the United Kingdom. In November the town hosted the inaugural meeting of a body dubbed the “Prime Minister and Heads of Devolved Government Council.”
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “A rather European union”
Britain August 19th 2023
- Britain’s green belt is choking the economy
- Reckoning with slavery remains an elite project in Britain
- England’s Lionesses reach the World Cup final
- Since Brexit, Britain’s union has grown increasingly European
- Britons are ever keener on mudlarking in the River Thames
- What happens to comedy when British politics becomes a joke?
From the August 19th 2023 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Britain
Has the Royal Navy become too timid?
A new paper examines how its culture has changed
A plan to reorganise local government in England runs into opposition
Turkeys vote against Christmas
David Lammy’s plan to shake up Britain’s Foreign Office
Diplomats will be tasked with growing the economy and cutting migration
Britain’s government has spooked markets and riled businesses
Tax rises were inevitable. Such a shaky start was not
Labour’s credibility trap
Who can believe Rachel Reeves?