The British political system is running on empty. Its ruling elite has emerged from the long Brexit crisis apparently just as clueless and incompetent as it was before. Why is this, and what can the British people do to truly ‘take control’?

Taking Control argues that neither side in the Brexit debate really understood the European Union or what was involved in reclaiming Britain’s sovereignty. The EU is neither a supranational nanny state, nor an internationalist peace project. It is the means by which Europe’s elites transformed their own states in order to rule the void where representative politics used to be. Leaving the EU was a necessary but not sufficient step towards closing the yawning chasm between rulers and ruled.

This book makes the democratic case for national sovereignty, arguing for a radical, forward-looking reconstitution of the British nation-state and the evolution of new forms of representative democracy. It is essential reading for anyone who wonders why British politics is so dysfunctional, and wants to do better.

Philip Cunliffe is Associate Professor in International Relations at the University College London.
George Hoare is an independent researcher and co-host of the Bungacast podcast.
Lee Jones is Professor of Political Economy and International Relations at Queen Mary University of London.
Peter Ramsay is Professor of Law at the London School of Economics Law School.

Preface

Introduction
1 From Nation-States to Member-States
2 Voiding National Sovereignty
3 The Vote
4 Leaving the EU, Remaining in the Void
5 Constituting the Nation
6 Taking Control: Towards a Democratic Britain

References
Index