How Political Eras End

Book excerpt: This book examines the frequently expressed assertion by political commentators and historians that the UK is currently experiencing ‘the end of a political era’. It does this by analysing the seismic shifts in the way politics have been conducted in recent years, principally since the EU Referendum in 2016. It also considers these developments in the light of the relative political stability which lasted from the end of the Second World War, and it compares this with another discrete ‘political era’, spanning from 1832 to the 1906 election. Comparisons between the two periods make a compelling case for contemporary claims and also provide a broad definition of what constitutes a political era. The book will be of importance to historians and students of history, but in its broader treatment of such current issues as democracy, voter motivation, electoral systems, globalisation, national and local identities, and migration, it will also appeal to the politically-minded general reader.