Brexit, No Exit: Why (in the End) Britain Won't Leave Europe - Softcover

Denis MacShane

3.68

41 ratings by Goodreads

9781784538781: Brexit, No Exit: Why (in the End) Britain Won't Leave Europe

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1784538787 ISBN 13: 9781784538781

Publisher: I.B.Tauris, 2017

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The UK's Brexit vote on 23rd June 2016 provided perhaps the most dramatic proof that the era of political and economic globalization has ended. Populism, nationalism and xenophobia are surging across Europe and Brexit adds to the problems facing the established political order. This book shows how we reached this stage and what needs to be done now. As a former MP and Europe minister under Tony Blair, and latterly as a commentator and writer on European issues, Denis MacShane has a unique insider perspective on the events that led to Brexit and the behind-the-scenes discussions that followed. He argues that Brexit will not mean full rupture with Europe and that British capitalism will overcome the ultra-right-wing forces of the Conservative back-bench and UKIP. Although the path to Article 50 and beyond will be fraught and tensely-negotiated, Britain cannot and will not divorce itself from the continent of Europe and the European question will continue to be a defning feature of politics into the future.

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Review:

'As a multi-lingual citizen of the EU with unique access to key Brexit negotiators, Denis MacShane is an acute observer of post-Referendum politics. He predicted the Leave vote back in January 2015. His superbly argued case against the fatalism of defeated Remainers, and the cynical financial interests behind the Leave campaign demand the widest possible readership.' - Ian McEwan

'All is not lost. That's the important message of hope from one the very few who forecast the referendum result correctly. Brexit is the biggest challenge for Britain in a generation as a hard UKIP-style Brexit would align Britain with Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, rather than with progressive forces and friends in Europe such as Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel. Denis MacShane has the deepest knowledge of Europe, having spent much of his life working with European political and civil society. He has been the most prominent pro-European voice as an MP and Minister. This book exposes the dark forces that won the Brexit vote and how it may be possible to take them on and ensure that British citizens do not lose all rights to trade, work or live in Europe. This is a must-read for those who need encouragement to fight on for Britain's close relationship with the EU.' --Polly Toynbee

'Denis MacShane, the former Minister of Europe, is almost unique among British commentators on the EU in spending more time in European capitals than in London. He is therefore enjoys an extraordinarily rich network of European political contacts, which allows him great insight into how the EU and its member-states are changing. In January 2015 MacShane correctly predicted that Brexit would happen, and anyone interested in what the next stages of the Brexit saga would be well advised to read this book.' - Charles Grant, Centre for European Reform

'Britain has been involved in European affairs for centuries to ensure the UK's security and economic health. Now Britain is set to leave the European Union. But is the narrow vote in the referendum on June 2016 and the last and only word on Britain's future relationship with the continent and what does it mean for the future of the unity of the United Kingdom? Denis MacShane was a UK politician with one of the widest network of friends and contacts in many EU capitals. Remarkably, he predicted the referendum outcome in his book Brexit: How Britain Will Leave Europe in January 2015. Now he argues that Britain can and must remain part of Europe. Everyone involved in the Europe debate, whether or not they agree with the author, will find plenty of facts and arguments in this book relevant to this next chapter in our island's history.'

--Brendan Simms, Director of the Forum on Geopolitics, Cambridge and author of Britain's Europe: A Thousand Years of Conflict and Cooperation

'The question of Brexit is set to dominate British political life over the next period. There has never been anything like it before. A closely fought referendum with a narrow outcome leading to a decision to leave the European Union as well as the end of a prime minister's career and the arrival of the second woman prime minister in British history. Now the fraught and difficult negotiations are under way. Denis MacShane has been one of the most passionate pro-Europeans in Parliament and Government and today still networks across Europe, speaking and writing in more than one language on the future of the EU and about Brexit. Leavers and Remainers will find plenty in his new book to agree and disagree with. It reflects the pro-European commitment of Denis MacShane but adds facts and arguments especially from across the Channel and Irish seas that will interest anyone following this new chapter in our national life.' - Adam Boulton

'Denis MacShane is respected throughout Europe as a British political animal who takes a keen interest in what policy-makers in EU capitals think and are likely to do. It also helps that he likes talking to Europeans in their own languages and has even been known to read a paper in other than English. Brexit has been a shock throughout the EU and it remains to be seen if it will lead to a permanent amputation of Britain from her friends, allies and partner in Europe. This book examines many of the arguments about Brexit and offers some ways forward.

--Enrico Letta, former prime minister of Italy, Dean of the Paris School of International Affairs at Sciences-Po, Paris

About the Author:

Denis MacShane was a Labour MP serving in Tony Blair's government as Minister for Europe. He was first elected as MP for Rotherham in 1994 and served until his resignation in 2012. MacShane studied at Oxford and London universities and has four children. He is a prominent commentator on European issues.

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