ISSUE: 4/2024

  • Volume 28
  • Number 4
  • 2024

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Studia Europejskie –
Studies in European Affairs

ISSN: 1428-149X
e-ISSN: 2719-3780

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Publication co-financed by the University of Warsaw within the “Excellence Initiative – Research University” programme.

Czasopismo otrzymało dofinasowanie w ramach Programu „Inicjatywa Doskonałości – Uczelnia Badawcza”.

The Boiling Point. Three Lessons From Party-Switching in the Brexit Era

Abstract

In this article, the author demonstrates how the phenomenon of party-switching can be used to shed light on and analyse the challenges arising from Brexit at the parliamentary level, and argues that it acts as an external shock, leading to a so-called “boiling point” scenario whereby fundamental bonds of the parliamentary system, namely, long-standing party affiliations, rapidly disintegrate. The dynamics of 271 instances of party-switching in the House of Commons from 1992 to 2023 are presented, with a particular focus on the short period between February and October 2019, during which there was a surge of 89 such cases. Adopting a perspective focused on party affiliation changes, the author argues that the British case allows us to carefully formulate three general conclusions: 1) Every parliamentary system has a potential boiling point; 2) The systemic boiling point has an emergent character; 3) It does not imply a formal power shift in the Government.

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Language: English

Pages: 243-261

How to Cite:

Harvard

Zieliński, M. (2024) "The Boiling Point. Three Lessons From Party-Switching in the Brexit Era". Studia Europejskie – Studies in European Affairs, 4/2024, pp. 243-261. DOI: 10.33067/SE.4.2024.11

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