{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/9a03fe9e-1ff0-4dcc-b3f6-50bd1f016ea4/50a09413-8e8b-4461-bfac-06ee51d468e4?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"Brexit Lessons","thumbnail_width":200,"thumbnail_height":200,"thumbnail_url":"https://open-images.acast.com/shows/6195701f2eacc3a36070252a/619570bccb3c660012e3d229.jpg?height=200","description":"<p>We try to draw some wider lessons from the nightmare that the&nbsp;Brexit process has now become.&nbsp;What have we learned about the&nbsp;relationship between parliament and the executive?&nbsp;Is there any way&nbsp;that the Article 50 process could have worked?&nbsp;And what conclusions&nbsp;will other countries reach about how hard it is to leave the EU?&nbsp;Plus&nbsp;we talk about the recent report from the Hansard Society indicating that&nbsp;the British public is more open than ever to the idea of a 'strong&nbsp;leader'.&nbsp;With Helen Thompson and Kenneth Armstrong.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Talking Points:</strong></p><p><br></p><p>The Cooper Act has been rushed through both houses—but has it really changed anything?</p><ul><li>Very little in this act actually constrains the government.</li><li>No deal isn’t off the table.</li><li>Even if it didn’t change much in substantive terms, in constitutional terms, Parliament may have set something in motion.</li></ul><p><br></p><p>The relationship between the executive and the legislature is under fire in a lot of places.</p><ul><li>Executive power tends to be more unrestrained on the international stage.</li><li>Treaties take important issues out of the realm of national politics. Legislatures only get to say yes or no.</li><li>The EU raises a lot of these issues because it is a treaty-based union.</li></ul><p><br></p><p>By all objective measures the May government should be on its last legs right now.</p><ul><li>But the Fixed-term Parliaments Act means there’s no real mechanism for getting rid of the government.</li><li>Could the May government just stagger on?</li><li>A lot of MP’s don’t want a general election.</li><li>Even if the Labour leadership does, the parliamentary Labour party doesn’t.</li><li>At every turn, Parliament seems to be trying to escape responsibility for its own actions.</li></ul><p><br></p><p>What is the lesson others should take from all of this?</p><ul><li>Is the problem Ireland?</li><li>Or is the problem the UK parliamentary system, and coalition governance?</li><li>... Or is it just really hard to leave the EU?</li></ul><p><br></p><p>A new report from the Hansard Society shows that a lot of people in Britain seem to have a taste for authoritarianism.</p><ul><li>What people really want is a politician who can cut through politics.</li><li>There may be a substitution effect between process and personality. When process breaks down, people want a charismatic leader.</li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong>Mentioned in this Episode:</strong></p><ul><li><a href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/apr/08/uk-more-willing-embrace-authoritarianism-warn-hansard-audit-political-engagement\" target=\"_blank\">About that Hansard Society report</a></li><li><a href=\"https://www.ft.com/content/23d71a04-5916-11e9-9dde-7aedca0a081a\" target=\"_blank\">The FT on Macron’s De Gaulle Moment</a></li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong>Further Learning:</strong></p><ul><li><a href=\"https://brexittime.com/about/\" target=\"_blank\">Kenneth’s Brexit Time blog</a></li><li><a href=\"https://www.talkingpoliticspodcast.com/blog/2019/154-may-rolls-the-dice\" target=\"_blank\">May rolls the dice</a></li><li><a href=\"https://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/SN06111\" target=\"_blank\">On the Fixed-term Parliaments Act</a></li></ul>","author_name":"David Runciman and Catherine Carr"}