Since the Brexit referendum in 2016, the United Kingdom (UK) has been plunged into a deep crisis. Each new prime minister seems less able to solve problems. Even as late as October 2022, the country was on the brink of a financial crisis, which led to the resignation of the newly sworn-in prime minister, Liz Truss. Her successor, Rishi Sunak, admitted that the UK faced “a deep economic crisis.” He announced “difficult but necessary decisions” to “fix” the economic problems he had inherited.
The British peoples’ problems are growing. The energy crisis is tightening, inflation is mounting, and unions are calling a series of strikes, demanding wage increases. A new “winter of discontent” is pressing in on an economically weakened and politically polarized UK.
How do we explain Britain’s economic and political situation? What can be expected from the new government? Does this crisis mark the end of the Conservative Party’s time in government? Could it lead to an about-face on Brexit? These are the questions we will consider here.
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© Union of Catholic Asian News
2023
