Britain, Brexit and the spectre of Empire

Britain’s relationship with Europe has a complex history, of which Brexit is merely the latest development.

Ten years on from the EU referendum, Professor Simon Glendinning, Head of the European Institute, writes that Brexit represented the final, painful collapse of Britain’s post-war imperial imagination, extinguishing the hope of Britain finding a post-Empire identity within the EU.

We also interviewed Simon Glendinning as part of our exclusive interview series, In the Brexit hot seat, which is featuring 10 voices from the LSE European Institute in the lead up to the anniversary of the 2016 referendum on 23 June 2026, to reflect on the impact and insights from Brexit, 10 years on.