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Interpreting UK legislatures: an introduction (2024)
Journal Article
Beech, M., & Bevir, M. (in press). Interpreting UK legislatures: an introduction. Journal of Legislative Studies, https://doi.org/10.1080/13572334.2024.2345038

The purpose of this special issue of the Journal of Legislative Studies is to explain and understand the era of profound change that has affected, and continues to impact, UK legislatures. This is an era of special change, wrought by the phenomena of... Read More about Interpreting UK legislatures: an introduction.

Why the beliefs of parliamentarians matter: an interpretive approach to legislative studies (2024)
Journal Article
Beech, M., & Bevir, M. (in press). Why the beliefs of parliamentarians matter: an interpretive approach to legislative studies. Journal of Legislative Studies, https://doi.org/10.1080/13572334.2024.2345035

In this article, we argue, following the interpretive approach, that parliamentarians’ beliefs, and the intellectual traditions on which they draw matter. Parliamentary behaviour and legislative practice is the contingent product of the historically... Read More about Why the beliefs of parliamentarians matter: an interpretive approach to legislative studies.

Conservative Party Ideology in the Age of Brexit (2023)
Book Chapter
Beech, M. (2023). Conservative Party Ideology in the Age of Brexit. In M. Beech, & S. Lee (Eds.), Conservative Governments in the Age of Brexit (11-24). Cham: Palgrave Macmillan (part of Springer Nature). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21464-6_2

This essay asserts that the Age of Brexit was one of sharp ideological conflict in the Conservative Party and yet, despite such tumult, the Conservative Party demonstrated its ideological breadth by surviving schism and thriving, by winning a third s... Read More about Conservative Party Ideology in the Age of Brexit.

Conservative Governments in the Age of Brexit (2023)
Book
Beech, M., & Lee, S. (Eds.). (2023). Conservative Governments in the Age of Brexit. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21464-6

This book provides the first evaluation of the three Conservative administrations which have been affected, shaped and largely determined by the age of Brexit.It breaks new ground by collectively analysing the Cameron, May and Johnson administrations... Read More about Conservative Governments in the Age of Brexit.

The General Elections: 2015, 2017, 2019 (2023)
Book Chapter
Fear, C. (2023). The General Elections: 2015, 2017, 2019. In Conservative Governments in the Age of Brexit (47-64). Cham: Palgrave Macmillan (part of Springer Nature). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21464-6_4

This chapter explains the backgrounds, the strategies, and the performance of the Conservatives’ three general election campaigns in 2015, 2017, and 2019. Special attention is given to voting patterns and statistics, which (I argue) reveal more about... Read More about The General Elections: 2015, 2017, 2019.

Interpreting Brexit: Reimagining Political Traditions (2022)
Book
Bevir, M., & Beech, M. (Eds.). (2022). Interpreting Brexit: Reimagining Political Traditions. Palgrave Macmillan (part of Springer Nature). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-17281-6

This volume examines the impact of Brexit on political traditions such as nationalism, liberalism and conservatism, cosmopolitanism and decentralization. Bringing together scholars of British Politics, the chapters focus on the following topics: Bre... Read More about Interpreting Brexit: Reimagining Political Traditions.

Brexit and the Labour Party: Europe, cosmopolitanism and the narrowing of traditions (2021)
Journal Article
Beech, M. (2021). Brexit and the Labour Party: Europe, cosmopolitanism and the narrowing of traditions. British Politics, https://doi.org/10.1057/s41293-021-00168-6

The phenomenon of Brexit is reordering British politics. Its effects have led to political and cultural shock, disruption and rifts. This article explores how the phenomenon of Brexit has decentered the Labour Party’s ideational traditions. The artic... Read More about Brexit and the Labour Party: Europe, cosmopolitanism and the narrowing of traditions.

Divided by values: Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour Party and England's 'North-South Divide' (2020)
Journal Article
Beech, M., & Hickson, K. (2020). Divided by values: Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour Party and England's 'North-South Divide'. Revue Française de Civilisation Britannique, 24(2),

This article explores the sociocultural divide in England exposed by Brexit. The metaphors of ‘North’ and ‘South’ are used to explain this, where the former is seen as more culturally conservative and the latter as more cosmopolitan. We examine the... Read More about Divided by values: Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour Party and England's 'North-South Divide'.

The place of human rights in the foreign policy of Cameron's Conservatives: Sceptics or enthusiasts? (2019)
Journal Article
Beech, M., & Munce, P. (2019). The place of human rights in the foreign policy of Cameron's Conservatives: Sceptics or enthusiasts?. British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 21(1), 116-131. https://doi.org/10.1177/1369148118819066

The purpose of this article is to explain the place of human rights in the foreign policy thinking of David Cameron’s Conservatives (2005–2016). The article asks three interrelated questions: First, what role has human rights come to acquire in inter... Read More about The place of human rights in the foreign policy of Cameron's Conservatives: Sceptics or enthusiasts?.

The political economy of the third way: the relationship between globalisation and national economic policy (2019)
Book Chapter
Lee, S. (2019). The political economy of the third way: the relationship between globalisation and national economic policy. In J. Michie (Ed.), The Handbook of Globalisation (347-357). (3rd ed.). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781788118606.00031

The past 30 years are often depicted as an era of globalisation, and even more so with the recent rise of global giants such as Google and Amazon. This updated and revised edition of The Handbook of Globalisation offers novel insights into the rapid... Read More about The political economy of the third way: the relationship between globalisation and national economic policy.

From Technocratic Pragmatism to the Developmental Market: Conceptualising the Politics of Brexit in Terms of the Rivalry of Two Different Political Economies (2018)
Journal Article
Lee, S. (2018). From Technocratic Pragmatism to the Developmental Market: Conceptualising the Politics of Brexit in Terms of the Rivalry of Two Different Political Economies. Marmara Journal of European Studies, 26(1), 51-74

At the 5 June 1975 European Community referendum, England voted 68.7% in favour of the United Kingdom staying in the European Community (common market), making it the most Europhilic of the nations of the United Kingdom. On the 23 June 2016, England... Read More about From Technocratic Pragmatism to the Developmental Market: Conceptualising the Politics of Brexit in Terms of the Rivalry of Two Different Political Economies.

The Progressives (2018)
Book Chapter
Beech, M. (2018). The Progressives. In M. Beech, K. Hickson, & R. Plant (Eds.), The Struggle for Labour's Soul: Understanding Labour's Political Thought Since 1945 (67-79). (2nd edition). Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315170848-6

The chapter on New Labour in the first edition of this volume was finished in 2003. Tony Blair resigned in 2007 and Gordon Brown left office in 2010. This chapter seeks not to cover previous ground but to take the long view. By that I mean to explain... Read More about The Progressives.

Politics UK (2018)
Book
Jones, B., Hertner, I., & Norton, P. (2018). B. Jones, P. Norton, & O. Daddow (Eds.). Politics UK. Abingdon: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003028574

This revised and updated tenth edition of the bestselling textbook Politics UK is an indispensable introduction to British politics. It provides a thorough and accessible overview of the institutions and processes of British government, an excellent... Read More about Politics UK.

Neoliberalism, New Labour and the Welfare State (2017)
Book Chapter
Beech, M. (2017). Neoliberalism, New Labour and the Welfare State. In R. E. Backhouse, B. W. Bateman, T. Nishizawa, & D. Plehwe (Eds.), Liberalism and the Welfare State: Economists & arguments for the Welfare State (118-130). Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof%3Aoso/9780190676681.003.0007

This chapter argues that the New Labour governments (1997–2010) were not a political project wholly based on neoliberal assumptions, as the “majority view” in the scholarship asserts. In the area of welfare policy New Labour adopted a modified social... Read More about Neoliberalism, New Labour and the Welfare State.

Law, Legislation and Rent-Seeking: The Role of The Treasury-Led Developmental State in the Competitive Advantage of the Southern Powerhouse (2017)
Book Chapter
Lee, S. (2017). Law, Legislation and Rent-Seeking: The Role of The Treasury-Led Developmental State in the Competitive Advantage of the Southern Powerhouse. In C. Berry, & A. Giovannini (Eds.), Developing England's North: The Political Economy of The Northern Powerhouse (59-83). Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62560-7_3

This chapter argues that the political economy of England’s ‘Northern Powerhouse’ cannot be understood in isolation from that of its ‘Southern Powerhouse’ neighbour. The UK’s relative decline, especially manufacturing in the North, is frequently allo... Read More about Law, Legislation and Rent-Seeking: The Role of The Treasury-Led Developmental State in the Competitive Advantage of the Southern Powerhouse.

Expansionary Fiscal Consolidation and the "Smarter State': An Evaluation of the Politics of Austerity in the United Kingdom, May 2010 to February 2016 (2017)
Book Chapter
Lee, S. (2017). Expansionary Fiscal Consolidation and the "Smarter State': An Evaluation of the Politics of Austerity in the United Kingdom, May 2010 to February 2016. In S. McBride, & B. M. Evans (Eds.), The Austerity State (123-143). Toronto: University of Toronto Press

The fall-out from the economic and financial crisis of 2008 had profound implications for countries across the world, leading different states to determine the best approach to mitigating its effects. In The Austerity State, a group of established an... Read More about Expansionary Fiscal Consolidation and the "Smarter State': An Evaluation of the Politics of Austerity in the United Kingdom, May 2010 to February 2016.

The Conservative-Liberal Coalition: Examining the Cameron-Clegg Government (2015)
Book
Beech, M., & Lee, S. (2015). M. Beech, & S. Lee (Eds.). The Conservative-Liberal Coalition: Examining the Cameron-Clegg Government. Bassingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137461377

This book offers a unique full term analysis of the Cameron-Clegg Government. From austerity to gay marriage, the Scottish referendum to combating IS, it brings together expert academic voices to provide rigorous yet readable insights on the key area... Read More about The Conservative-Liberal Coalition: Examining the Cameron-Clegg Government.

Humanitarian intervention and foreign policy in the Conservative-led coalition (2013)
Journal Article
Beech, M., & Oliver, T. (2014). Humanitarian intervention and foreign policy in the Conservative-led coalition. Parliamentary affairs, 67(1), 102-118. https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/gst024

This paper examines the role of humanitarian intervention as a tool of foreign policy in the Conservative-led Coalition. The first section of the paper provides historical context and assesses the traditional approaches to humanitarian intervention a... Read More about Humanitarian intervention and foreign policy in the Conservative-led coalition.