Brexit, 10 years on: Parliament and the democratic crisis - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 146
11 Jun 2026
Ten years after the Brexit referendum, historian Dr Robert Saunders joins us to discuss why Brexit represented not just a bitter political dispute but a full-blown democratic crisis. We examine why Britain's institutions struggled to implement the referendum result and why Parliament and the major political parties appear to have learned so little from the experience. And as the Defence Secretary, John Healey, resigns over defence spending, we discuss what this will mean for Sir Keir Starmer’s premiership. Listen and subscribe: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · Acast · YouTube · Other apps · RSS
This month marks the tenth anniversary of the Brexit referendum – a vote that unleashed four years of extraordinary political turmoil. Judges were branded "enemies of the people", MPs denounced as "saboteurs", political parties fractured, and Prime Ministers rose and fell amid relentless parliamentary drama.
Historian Dr Robert Saunders of Queen Mary University of London has written a new paper arguing that Brexit was more than a bitter political dispute: it amounted to a full-blown democratic crisis.
In this episode, Robert joins Ruth and Mark to explore why Britain’s political system struggled to interpret and implement the referendum instruction, and why Parliament and the major parties appear to have learned so little from the experience.
The conversation then turns to current events. In the wake of the horrific attacks in Southampton and Belfast, they ask whether the same political and social forces that fuelled the Brexit revolt are now at play over immigration.
Robert last appeared on the podcast at Christmas to discuss why the job of Prime Minister increasingly looks impossible. With Sir Keir Starmer now facing fresh turmoil following the resignation of the Defence Secretary, John Healey, the discussion returns to that theme: could this latest setback prove fatal to Starmer’s premiership, or might he survive as a “Zombie Prime Minister”, still in office but with his authority destroyed?
Dr Robert Saunders
Robert Saunders
Dr Robert Saunders is Reader in Modern British History and Deputy Director of the Mile End Institute at Queen Mary University of London. His work focuses on political history and the history of ideas, including the history of democracy and democratic thought in Britain, the political and intellectual history of Thatcherism, the relationship between Britain and the European Union, and the role of religion in British political culture. Formerly on Twitter as @redhistorian he now posts on Bluesky as @robertsaunders.bsky.social
A transcript of the episode will be added here tonight.
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