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The political system of Britain in its current form took shape in the years following the Second World War when the elite were obliged to respond as best they could to the collapse of the state-empire system in which they had been embedded. The response was creative and involved a mix of denial and confection as any explicit recognition of profound structural change was elided in favour of an idea of "continuing Britain", an old nation, recently victorious in a virtuous war, a bridge between Europe, the United States and the Commonwealth, a country which punched above its weight, a model for other states/nations. Upon this political-cultural base further additions were made as the post-war period unfolded and events provoked their own reactions. Unhappily, the elite's initial response was a fantasy and their vision of the future of the political-cultural project of Britain was untenable moreover their vision entailed accommodation to the demands of the USA in respect of a global liberal trading sphere and prompted them to turn away from Europe where the first steps towards union were being made. In recent decades this has meant an enthusiastic affirmation of model of liberal-market democracy, however the recent financial crisis and consequent collapse of the neo-liberal package has underscored the scale of the errors made by the elite in those days. Neither European, nor American nor plausibly independent, the British polity turns this way and that, celebrating a stylized past and trumpeting its self-proclaimed status whilst casting around for a plausible tale to tell about its future. All this implies a rather urgent reconsideration of the character and direction of the polity. And as the present situation combines an established base plus various accretions, it is from within this repertoire of ideas that plans for the future must be fashioned. So looking to the future, downstream from crisis, the polity confronts a choice: poodle-hood, muddle-through or Europe.

DOI: 10.1057/9781137023834_11

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