UK breakup ‘most likely constitutional watershed’ from Brexit, says politics prof

The breakup of the UK has been described as the “most likely” form of “constitutional watershed” from Brexit according to a politics professor.

Andrew Gamble, who is Professor of Politics at the University of Sheffield and Emeritus Professor of Politics at the University of Cambridge, made the comments on the blog of the London School of Economics.

The author of After Brexit and Other Essays argued that Brexit has “further destabilised the Union”, which has had the effect of “enhancing support for Welsh independence”.

Professor Gamble “For all the passions Brexit has aroused, it will only be judged a watershed by historians if it leads to major new directions in the constitution, political economy or external stance of the British state.

“The most likely form a constitutional watershed arising from Brexit might take is the breakup of the United Kingdom.

“Brexit has further destabilised the Union, increasing secessionist pressure in Scotland, raising the possibility of Irish reunification, enhancing support for Welsh independence, and accelerating the emergence of a new politicised Englishness.

“The new disunited Kingdom has been on full display during the pandemic.”

He added: “How will Brexit come to be judged? Five years on from the referendum, it is still unclear whether this striking manifestation of popular sovereignty will come to be seen as a major watershed in British politics or not.

“As with all revolutions, the rupture which is proclaimed at the time often masks much deeper continuities in policy which soon reassert themselves.”