Written by Liubov Korina

Echoing global dynamics amid a set of unique national challenges, the United Kingdom has been navigating the realities of economic uncertainty, political divisions and policy changes following its withdrawal from the European Union. The nation has not seen such unprecedented political and social turmoil since the pre-war era. Nevertheless, the Labour Party’s recent landslide victory may offer a prospect for stability.

The Honourable George Brandis KC is a barrister of the Supreme Court of Queensland and the High Court of Australia, and a former Commonwealth Attorney General and High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (image supplied)

To wade through the chaos and calmness of UK politics over the last decade, the Australian Institute of International Affairs Queensland welcomed the Honourable Professor George Brandis KC to provide insight into what has been a tumultuous period for the country. Providing an original analysis, Professor Brandis delved deeper than the headlines of newspapers; he recalled his own experiences while serving as the High Commissioner of Australia to the United Kingdom during this period of political instability. It was through these experiences that Professor Brandis uncovered the mysteries behind a long series of UK’s unstable prime ministerships and the recent election of the Labour Party.

After arriving in the UK in 2018 for a four-year serving term, Professor Brandis experienced firsthand the ways that Brexit, COVID-19, and the infighting within both the Conservative and Labour parties strained UK political structures and democratic institutions. Although facing many ongoing challenges,

the decision to leave the EU overshadowed all other policy issues at the fore within UK politics. Since the referendum in 2016, Brexit dominated every aspect of the national political landscape, immobilising government, which was unable to pass key legislation through parliament. Upon his arrival in the UK, Professor Brandis recalled his immediate disbelief regarding the state of the political system.

“I have never seen a political system in such a mess.”

Professor Brandis described Brexit as a patently divisive issue among voters. Owed to its controversy, it remained the topic of conversation in the years to come. The referendum saw 51.9 per cent of voters in favour of leaving the European Union, while the remaining 48.1 per cent voted to stay. According to Professor Brandis, such separation in opinion among the general population had an impact beyond mere house-hold disagreements. The social, economic and political stability of the UK was threatened.

Continuing his observations about the state of governance at the time, Professor Brandis likened the situation to a government in office, but not in power. Reflecting on the leadership of former Prime Minister Theresa May in the aftermath of the referendum, Professor Brandis argued that her inability to manage the political fallout undermined her authority, and ultimately led to her downfall.

The discussion inevitably progressed to the central figure of Brexit and former Prime Minister – Boris Johnson. With a firsthand account of his tenure, Professor Brandis explored his rise to power, owing to his ability to cut through to working-class Englishmen. Highlighting Johnson’s ‘Get Brexit Done’ campaign, Professor Brandis demonstrated the significance of its appeal to both sides of the Brexit debate. The aim of the campaign was to put a stop to the chaos that Brexit had stirred across the UK and would set the course for the historic win of 365 seats in a 650-member house of commons for the Conservative Party in 2019 – the party’s largest since 1987. However, as noted by Professor Brandis, “nobody is neutral about Boris Johnson.”

“You either love him or you absolutely despise him.”

In addition to a contentious personality as evidenced throughout intense parliamentary debates, Professor Brandis characterised Johnson as an undisciplined politician, accumulating numerous enemies amongst members of parliament, suggesting that this too, ultimately led to his own downfall. Yet, from a personal experience of working alongside the former Prime Minister, Professor Brandis gave praise to Johnson’s leadership, spirit and character. What made Johnson a rare politician, as described by Professor Brandis, was his absence of superiority.

Across the aisle, Professor Brandis also observed the transformation of the Labour Party, arguing that after years of internal conflict within the party, tensions began to subside. Professor Brandis partly credited this transformation to the rise of the current Prime Minister Keir Starmer, becoming the leader of the party in 2020, and his “ruthless war against the Labour left.” Last month, the Labour Party won 411 seats, an increase of 209 since the previous election, while the Conservative Party won only 121 seats, a staggering fall of 244. For Professor Brandis, the Labour Party’s recent electoral success is the product of a nation wanting a break from the chaos of Brexit, COVID-19, and a series of unstable prime ministerships.

Answering questions from the audience, Professor Brandis was asked to give his outlook on the reasons for the lack of social cohesion and racial equality across the United Kingdom. Drawing on three key differences between Australia and the UK, he reflected on the two countries contrasting perspectives towards multiculturalism. He described that unlike the UK’s, the Australian population generally seems more open to a rise in population size and more amenable for this rise to be from different cultures. Further pointing out the disparities, Professor Brandis discussed that Australia has a high standard of settlement services which include check-ups on the status of work, health, wellbeing and housing of new Australian citizens, substantially different to those of the UK.

In response to whether the UK might see a policy that would reverse Brexit, Professor Brandis reiterated that British voters are utterly exhausted by political instability and the idea of repeating the chaos is not on the cards at the moment. However, he also acknowledged that a look at the current House of Commons would suggest that 85 per cent of those elected officials would have voted to remain in the EU at the time of the referendum. And so, whether this is sustainable in the long run remains unknown. He continued to mention that current polls do suggest that Brexit is becoming increasingly unpopular, especially among younger generations aged between 18 and 24, of which 75 per cent voted to remain in the EU in 2016. When questioned on the royal family, according to Professor Brandis it is often misjudged just how deeply imbedded royalty is in British consciousness, surmising that the political and cultural scenes of the family should not be underestimated.

Serving as a current barrister of the Supreme Court of Queensland and the High Court of Australia, Professor George Brandis’s vast expertise and work in the political sector attributed to his unique, highly informative, and memorable discussion of endured political challenges and future outlooks of the United Kingdom.

Currently in her final year of studies, Liubov Korina is pursuing a double degree in Economics and Arts, with majors in International Relations and Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Queensland. With particular interest in the intersection between economics and politics, Liubov is aspiring to be part of bringing about sustainable peace around the world through diplomatic and peace-building efforts.