Brexit as Britain in Decline and its Crises (Revisited)

This article revisits Andrew Gamble’s book, Britain in Decline, and also revisits the geographies of state crisis. Drawing on the substantial archives of state theory, the article explores how Brexit emerged as a moment of crisis following the relative decline of the economy and the reshaping of the welfare state. Discussions of Brexit and the uneven geographies of advanced capitalism inevitably raise questions about the central tension between the free market and strong state within both political discourse and political activity. In considering these, the article extends Gamble’s writing on the social, economic and political struggles within the Thatcherite project and explores the role of uneven development in perpetuating and transforming the contradictions of advanced capitalism. This allows for a more geographical reading of contradictions inside
the state-territory, which augments Gamble’s understanding of the external challenges to Britain’s postwar settlement.