OpenMinds-Talk: What does Brexit tell us about Britain?

Join us at the Open University, in the Berrill Theatre and online as we host an enlightening Talk exploring the question:   What does Brexit tell us about Britain?

Transcript

Date:  Tuesday 28 March

Time:  6:30-7:30pm

Venue:  Berrill Lecture Theatre, The Open University

As Britain gets set to trigger Article 50 and prepares to leave the European Union, three Open University experts will explore:

What Brexit tells us about Britain, its democracy and its citizens.

They will be posing the following questions:

• How did a House of Commons with a “Remain” majority come to vote to trigger Article 50?
• What does this mean now for EU citizens living in Britain and UK citizens living in Europe?
• Is the public debate on Brexit over or does the public still have the right to a say?

Representing The Open University are:

Dr Richard Heffernan, Reader in Government, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences , who joined The Open University in 1999 and has held visiting appointments at the Center for European Studies, Harvard University, the University of California, Los Angeles and the London School of Economics.  Richard works in the field of comparative politics and specialises in British politics and is presently researching the British prime minister.

Anne Wesemann, Lecturer in Law, Faculty of Business and Law , specialises in European Union Law and comparative constitutional law.  Anne's research focusses on the constitutional construct of the European Union and the interrelations with the Member States.  As a consequence, she is closely involved in current discussions and debates around the UK referendum vote on membership to the EU and the process of the UK's withdrawal from the European Union.

Dr Kesi Mahendran, Lecturer in Social Psychology, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences , is a social and political psychologist who works on migration-mobility, non-mobility, belonging, integration and citizenship - including public narratives of European citizenship.  Kesi's research programme aims to contribute towards and understanding of he dialogue between citizens and governments on vexed political questions.  One of these is Integration & Citizenship within European Union in the post-Brexit era.

Our speakers will take us on a journey from public attitudes to the EU before the referendum, to what the process tells us about British politics, to what happens next.

There will, of course, be time for questions as well as networking, discussion opportunities and refreshments after the event.

We very much hope you will be able to attend what promises to be an inspiring event – the third in the Open University’s 2017 ‘OpenMinds’ series of public engagement events.

Event programme:

18.30 Talk commences

19:11 Q&A session

19:30 Drinks reception and networking opportunity

20:30 Departure