Britain After Brexit

The author is an op-ed contributor to Beijing Review and director of the Lau China Institute at King’s College London

On January 31, Britain exited the EU after being a member for 47 years. Rather than national celebrations, and a statement before a live crowd from Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the event itself was marked in an almost low-key way. After all, this was something which had been attempted two times before, under the prime ministership of Theresa May, and once under Johnson. Johnson’s final securing of an agreement to exit from the British parliament this time was a direct result of his being able to secure a working majority in the December 12, 2019, election for the Conservative Party.