Papers by Christopher Kirkland
British Politics
The UK’s referendum vote to leave the EU in June 2016 generated deep divisions in British politic... more The UK’s referendum vote to leave the EU in June 2016 generated deep divisions in British politics. It led to the resignation of incumbent Prime Minister David Cameron the following day, and an inability to deliver Brexit led to the resignation of his successor Theresa May in 2019. In addition, it has led to a number of legal challenges to the policies and processes of implementing these by both May’s and Boris Johnson’s governments. Those who support leaving the EU have characterised this period as one of ‘crisis’, in which politicians—unable to agree on a means of leaving—were pitted against the electorate or public will. Judicial challenges to the terms of exit and means of achieving Brexit were further incorporated into notions of crisis to the extent that failure to implement Brexit was portrayed as a crisis affecting the entire political system, or a constitutional crisis. In this article, we unpack this discourse, and by distinguishing between different forms of crises challenge the existing understanding of Brexit as a constitutional crisis. Rather, we suggest that these problems stemmed from constitutional weaknesses, specifically that the constitution is based on a reductionist understanding of power.
Labour’s Economic Ideology since 1900
British Politics
The UK’s referendum vote to leave the EU in June 2016 generated deep divisions in British politic... more The UK’s referendum vote to leave the EU in June 2016 generated deep divisions in British politics. It led to the resignation of incumbent Prime Minister David Cameron the following day, and an inability to deliver Brexit led to the resignation of his successor Theresa May in 2019. In addition, it has led to a number of legal challenges to the policies and processes of implementing these by both May’s and Boris Johnson’s governments. Those who support leaving the EU have characterised this period as one of ‘crisis’, in which politicians—unable to agree on a means of leaving—were pitted against the electorate or public will. Judicial challenges to the terms of exit and means of achieving Brexit were further incorporated into notions of crisis to the extent that failure to implement Brexit was portrayed as a crisis affecting the entire political system, or a constitutional crisis. In this article, we unpack this discourse, and by distinguishing between different forms of crises challenge the existing understanding of Brexit as a constitutional crisis. Rather, we suggest that these problems stemmed from constitutional weaknesses, specifically that the constitution is based on a reductionist understanding of power.
Classifying Elections in Britain, 2019
The Political Economy of Britain in Crisis, 2017
Drawing upon the social contract and the Winter of Discontent as case studies, this chapter demon... more Drawing upon the social contract and the Winter of Discontent as case studies, this chapter demonstrates how the media reporting of events, along with narratives of over powerful trade unions from politicians facilitated notions of blame. It asks how trade unions came to be blamed for growing (or perceived) economic problems of the 1970s. It also traces key popular narratives which emerged within the decade and became synonymous with excessive trade union power, such as the famous headline "Crisis? What Crisis?" Finally, the analysis demonstrates how media's narration of events over emphasised the power of trade unions to create industrial disruption. Keywords 1970s • Social contract • Trade union • Winter of Discontent The previous chapter has introduced the concept of crisis and shown how it holds inherent political connotations. It also explored notions of agenda setting, blame, framing (of debates) and power (relative to the concept of crisis), demonstrating their interdependence. It further suggested that within crises, different groups or agents may have different levels of power. This chapter, using the research questions outlined above, will explore how the trade unions were blamed (and who they were blamed by) for an economic crisis in the late 1970s, how and why such crisis narrative occurred and what measures were taken against the trade union movement, in order to "resolve" the crisis. Such questions will CHAPTER 2
Trade union strikes can legally go ahead if more than half the votes are in favour of action, reg... more Trade union strikes can legally go ahead if more than half the votes are in favour of action, regardless of how many members vote. The Trade Union Bill seeks to change this process by requiring that at least 50 per cent of all eligible members take part for such ballots to be legitimate. Christopher Kirkland and Matthew Wood argue this proposal is an example of how the focus on turnout ignores the fact that democracy is not just the result of a vote, but the process of voting.
In the original version preface and dedication were missing. These have now been included.
Classifying Elections in Britain, 2019
Classifying Elections in Britain, 2020
Although Tax Credit changes were accepted in the House of Commons, the failure of the Lords to ap... more Although Tax Credit changes were accepted in the House of Commons, the failure of the Lords to approve this motion has created some interesting paradoxes. Sagar S Deva and Christopher Kirkland write that rather than suggesting politically-motivated and short-termist changes to affect the passage of legislation, a longer term appreciation of proposed changes is required to reach a modern workable constitutional settlement.
Christopher Kirkland explores two crises in British political economy: that of trade unions in 19... more Christopher Kirkland explores two crises in British political economy: that of trade unions in 1976–9, and that of the banking sector in 2007. He argues that existing inequalities manifested themselves not only in the formation of those crises, but also within policy responses to them.
Classifying Elections in Britain, 2019
Research at York St John (RaY) is an institutional repository. It supports the principles of open... more Research at York St John (RaY) is an institutional repository. It supports the principles of open access by making the research outputs of the University available in digital form.
Government and Opposition, 2016
Declining voter turnout has been highlighted as problematic for a number of western democracies. ... more Declining voter turnout has been highlighted as problematic for a number of western democracies. However, in this article we argue that whether an election is seen as ‘legitimate’ or not depends crucially upon interpretations of the levels of turnout by elite actors. Through comparing two recent democratic ballots in the UK we demonstrate how elections with lower turnouts can come to be seen as holding more legitimacy than those with higher turnouts. The cases demonstrate, we argue, a distinction between actual legitimacy, defined as a binary concept, and the process of legitimization – a process through which the authority of an institution is discursively constructed and conferred. This suggests a new research agenda which extends beyond the current literature to focus upon how the legitimacy of a ballot is socially constructed in a broader context of unequal socioeconomic power relations.
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Papers by Christopher Kirkland