John Ryan

The UK’s Relationship with the EU: a tale of British Exceptionalism

The EU referendum on June 23, 2016 represented the biggest political decision British voters have made in their lifetime. The British public in turn delivered a result that can easily be classified as one of the biggest recent political shocks.

The referendum revealed deep popular disaffection with the European Union, in particular on the part of working-class communities that felt that they had been left behind. Some of the roots of this disaffection may lie elsewhere: in national government austerity policies or in the effects of globalisation more generally. Surveys have shown that UK voters are more aligned to their Brexit identity (Remainder or a Leaver) than to their party loyalties. UK politics is in turmoil and in a chronic crisis. What route the Brexit saga takes next is uncertain. But the crossroads is approaching – either the UK leaves in March 2019 (deal or no deal) or it finds a route to stay in the EU. The phenomenon of British exceptionalism towards the EU is set to take a new dramatic turn, while the UK’s chaotic political divisions will not disappear any time soon.

John Ryan’s current areas of research are: the Eurozone crisis, global currencies and Britain and the European Union. While visiting CESifo, he will work on the effect of Brexit on Germany and the EU. He has edited two recent books: The Global Currencies Conundrum, and Towards a Resilient Eurozone – Economic, Monetary and Fiscal Policies.

John Ryan is a Visiting Fellow at LSE IDEAS at the London School of Economics and Political Science and is a Senior Partner at Brexit Partners, which advises private and public sector organisations. He previously was a Fellow at St Edmund’s College, University of Cambridge, and the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, Berlin. John Ryan was educated at Oxford and Cambridge Universities, the London School of Economics and Political Science and the Kiel Institute of World Economics.