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British politics has become a strange place. Politicians making pronouncements on issues, but policies they implement achieving outcomes and conditions somewhat different has, under the Johnson government, been taken to an altogether different level.

Despite disparate attempts in both Conservative and Labour circles to get 'beyond Brexit', last week's series of local and regional elections across the UK were all about Brexit, in one way or another. Brexit is both a sign of a political realignment that has been a long time coming and has exacerbated it. It will reverberate down the elections cycles, whether politicians and voters like it or not, just like the relationship with the EU plays a role in other European countries. Even outside the EU, Britain will still have to deal with it, as has become clear so far in Jersey, Northern Ireland and soon, possibly in Scotland, where the EU lure might play a role in a future independence referendum.

It was the third General Election in five years, and with it came a handful of shocks, surprises and the ultimate Christmas present to Tory voters –another five years of a Conservative Government, who have promised to 'Get Brexit Done'

The Centre for Brexit Studies Director Professor Alex de Ruyter has shared his views, thoughts and expertise on a week that has been taken over by drama and chaos in Parliament. In a video shared today, Professor Alex de Ruyter discusses the various votes taking place in Parliament this week and what this means for the Brexit process, as well as Boris Johnson and what we can expect to happen in the coming weeks.

Casting an eye over recent events is a salutary experience. As always, though there's plenty to analyse, there's little engender optimism. Next Thursday the country will undergo its first major electoral test since December 2019. Local elections in England, Scotland and Wales, as well as the Northern Ireland Assembly elections, are viewed as a bellwether for the fortunes of the major political parties. In particular, results next week will be scrutinised to judge the ability of Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, to survive in his current position.

Just over two weeks ago, on the evening of Sunday 26th January, news began to break about the death of the basketball icon Kobe Bryant. The former NBA star was travelling by helicopter with his daughter, Gianna, and seven others to attend Gianna's youth basketball match. There were no survivors of the crash in the Calabasas area of Los Angeles County. The legacy and visibility of Kobe Bryant spread far beyond the world of sport; this tragedy has shown that his life and career showed that athletes can influence the world in much more significant ways.

The expression, "A week is a long time in politics" is attributed to Harold Wilson and made when giving a lobby briefing for journalists during the sterling crisis of 1964. Significantly, Liberal leader, Joseph Chamberlain, in 1886 stated, "In politics, there is no use in looking beyond the next fortnight."

Something has become increasingly apparent in both my academic work as well politics and the media: the importance of methodology. Fundamentally, both empirical work and policy must be pragmatic.

Centre for Brexit Studies Senior Fellow Dr Steven McCabe has shared his expertise and views on today's Queen's Speech and what this means for the Brexit process and what this could mean for British Politics in 2020.

It's politics, stupid. It might serve UK and EU leaders well to paste that updated version of James Carville's supposed exhortation for the 1992 Clinton campaign around their offices at a time when security threats on its periphery proliferate.

One of the things I have noticed about Brexit is the extent to which it appears to have promoted introspection amongst the relevant parties. Here in the UK, this is manifested in domestic politics, with a furious to-and-fro between those who get labelled as "Brexiters" and those labelled "Remainers".

Two leading industry experts from Birmingham City University have joined forces to discuss the past year in detail, and what we could expect from British politics in 2021. In the year that our lives were taken over by Covid-19 restrictions, lockdowns and tiers, Boris Johnson's government faced intense scrutiny thanks to endless U-turns.

British politics oscillates between two modes on Brexit and changes at the flick of a switch. Coinciding with elections it is obvious that there exists a large and determined vote to leave the EU which probably forms a majority. This was true of the Brexit referendum, the 2017 General Election and the 2019 European Elections.

Boris Johnson's thuggish, bullying brand of politics with regards to Brexit is not only poisoning domestic debate in the UK, its menace is being felt across Europe.Many Europeans tuning into Parliament's deliberations pick up on being designated the enemy. This is likely to make it harder to negotiate an alternative withdrawal agreement, while also spelling trouble for negotiating a future relationship in an adversarial atmosphere.

In the last couple of weeks in politics, what we've witnessed feels like a rollercoaster of farce. 'Party gate' and questions of whether Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, ate cake at his impromptu birthday party back in 2020, when, as Northern Ireland minister Conor Burns, claimed, he'd been "ambushed by cake" (he subsequently backtracked), has created the sense of confusion and crisis at the heart of government (ITV, 2022).