LSE Commission on the Future of Britain in Europe
The LSE Commission on the Future of Britain in Europe aimed to inform the national debate on Britain’s membership of the European Union, with high quality, evidence-based and balanced analysis. It aimed to meet the public need for reliable information in the run-up to the national referendum on the renegotiated terms of Britain’s EU membership, which was held on Thursday 23 June 2016.
The work of the Commission has concentrated on a series of expert hearings convened by LSE academics. Participants included: senior British and EU public officials, policy practitioners, academics, think tanks, journalists and business representatives. The Hearings examined: "negotiation issues", the options for a reconfigured UK-EU relationship and the wider impact of a Brexit on the UK, as well as on the EU as a whole.
Each convenor produced a report of their hearing which has contributed to a final Overview and Summary of reports, which sets out an overall assessment of the case for continued British EU membership or a Brexit. The European Institute launched the Commission report at a public event on Tuesday 7 June 2016.
We dedicated our investigation to the memory of the late Professor Maurice Fraser, former Head of the European Institute. The Commission was his initiative: sadly, he died in February unable to see its completion. It reflected his life-long passion for Europe and we hope we have done his memory justice.
Hearing 1: EU Financial Regulation & Protection for Eurozone "Outs"
Convenor: Dr Waltraud Schelkle, Associate Professor of Political Economy, November 2015
Hearing blog summary by Dr Schelkle, (November 2015): 'The City and the EU: too big to stay — or too big to go?'
Hearing blog by Dr Schelkle, (January 2016): 'A double bind: Cameron urges non-discrimination in one policy area, while wanting to discriminate in another'
Hearing 2: Higher Education & Research
Convenor: Dr Anne Corbett, Associate, LSE Enterprise, December 2015
Hearing blog summary by Dr Corbett, (December 2015): 'Commission hearing: Just how much do British universities need the EU?'
Hearing 3: Social Europe, EU Employment Legislation & the UK's Labour Market
Convenors: Dr Bob Hancké, Associate Professor of Political Economy
Dr Steve Coulter, LSE Fellow in Political Economy of Europe December 2015
Hearing blog summary by Dr Coulter, (December 2015): 'Reforming UK labour regulation – in or out of the EU – would be hard work'
Hearing 4: Free Movement of Persons & Migration
Convenor: Dr Eiko Thielemann, Associate Professor of Political Science and Public Policy; Director, LSE Migration Studies Unit (MSU); January 2016
Hearing blog summary by Dr Thielemann & Daniel Schade, (February 2016): 'Emergency brakes on migration: neither novel nor effective'
Report blog summary by Dr Thielemann & Daniel Schade, (May 2016) 'Jobs are good ones: addressing the factors that attract EU migrants to the UK'
Hearing 5: External Perspectives on the UK’s membership of the EU
Convenor: Professor Kevin Featherstone, Head of European Institute; January 2016
Hearing blog summary by Professor Featherstone, (February 2016): 'Waking up to a nightmare? A UK exit from the EU would be a ‘lose-lose’ for both sides'
Hearing 6: The Implications of Brexit for Fundamental Rights Protection in the UK
Convenor: Dr Jo Eric Kushal Murkens, Associate Professor of Law; February 2016
Hearing blog summary by Dr Murkens & Sarah Trotter (March 2016): 'Fundamental rights and fundamental fears'
Hearing 7: Britain as a Global Actor after Brexit
Convenors: Dr Spyros Economides, Associate Professor of International Relations and European Politics; Dr Mareike Kleine, Associate Professor of EU and International Politics; March 2016
Hearing blog summary by Dr Economides & Julia Himmrich (May 2016): 'What price autonomy? Brexit’s effect on Britain’s soft power, trade deals and European security'
Hearing 8: The UK's Democratic Moment on 'Europe'
Session 1: The EU Referendum: Campaigns, Voters and the Democratic Mandate
Convenor: Professor Sara B Hobolt, Sutherland Chair in European Institutions
Session 2: The Role of National Parliaments in the European Union
Convenor: Dr Sara Hagemann, Assistant Professor, European InstituteMarch 2016
Hearing blog summary by Sara Hobolt & Sara Hagemann (April 2016):'Turn out or else: do referendum campaigns actually change voters’ minds?'
Hearing blog summary by Sara Hobolt & Sara Hagemann (April 2016): 'A vote to leave the EU may have a detrimental impact on Parliament'
Hearing 9: Implications of a Brexit for UK National Governance & Local Government
Convenors: Professor Tony Travers, Director of LSE London, Professor in Practice; April 2016
Hearing 10: "Ever Closer Union"
Convenor: Professor Simon Glendinning, Professor of European Philosophy; April 2016
Hearing blog summary by Simon Glendinning & Roch Dunin-Wąsowicz, (June 2016): 'Ever closer to different destinations: how the renegotiation changed the EU’s aims'
Hearing 11: Economic Impact of Brexit
Convenor: Professor Iain Begg, Professorial Research Fellow;
May 2016