In this lecture, Tony Travers provided a historical perspective on how the UK found it so difficult to join the EEC and then, 43 years later, voted to leave the EU. He examined the challenges posed for the British government and Parliament in delivering Brexit, exploring the remarkable stand-off which has taken place between the country’s Executive and the Legislature. The UK, famously seen as a stable and moderate democracy, is witnessing a transformation in its (unwritten) constitution, with no certainty as to the final outcome of the Brexit process. In the light of what happens on October 31st the UK will, one way or the other, have to re-set its relations not only with the EU27 but also other countries and blocs. Nothing will be sorted out in the short term, leaving immense uncertainty about UK-EU trade, security and diplomatic relations, possibly for many years to come. The lecture will look forward and explore the options facing both the UK and the EU. Alexis Papahelas will be acting as a discussant.
| Speaker: |
Tony Travers, Associate Dean of the School of Public Polic & Professor in Practice, Department of Government, LSE |
| Chair: |
Kevin Featherstone, Hellenic Observatory Director; Eleftherios Venizelos Professor of Contemporary Greek Studies and Professor of European Politics, LSE |
| Discussant: |
Alexis Papahelas, Editor-in-Chief of 'Kathimerini' |
| Date: |
Thursday 10 October 2019 |
| Time: |
18.45-20.30 |
| Venue: |
Karatza Auditorium, Eolou 82, 105 51 Athens, Greece |
Tony Travers is the Associate Dean of the School of Public Policy at LSE, a Professor in Practice in LSE Department of Government and Director of LSE London. His key research interests include local and regional government, elections and public service reform. Professor Travers' knowledge is frequently sought by policy makers and he has advised a range of select committees and think tanks. He also provides expert analysis for broadcast and print media, regularly appearing on major television and radio networks.
Tony is chair of the British Government@LSE research group and a regular guest on The HotSeat, the Department of Government's current affairs video and podcast series. He has also written several books, most recently 'London's Boroughs at 50'.
Born in Athens in 1961, Alexis Papahelas studied History and Economics at Bard College and received a Masters in International Affairs and Journalism at Columbia University. Until 1998 he worked as a U.S. correspondent for various newspapers, television and radio networks. He returned to Greece in 1998 and co-anchored the respected news magazine "Mavro Kouti", broadcasted by MEGA Channel and worked as a senior editor for the newspaper "To Vima".
From 2000 until 2014 , Alexis Papahelas was the leading presenter of television show "The Files" at SKAI TV Channel. Among other leading personalities he has interviewed U.S. Presidents George Bush Sr. Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, former U.S. Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton, Colin Powell and Madeleine Albright, the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, Turkey’s Prime Minister Erdogan, George Soros and Bill Gates.
He is now the Editor-in-Chief of “Kathimerini”, the leading newspaper of Athens and a presenter of the “Stories” Television news program . He is also the Secretary General of the Hellenic Foundation for European & Foreign Policy, the main Greek think tank . Mr. Papahelas was named as one of the most influential Europeans for 2015 by POLITICO. He is the author of two books, “the Rape of Greek democracy” which focuses on the US role in Greek politics in the 1960's and “November 17” , a book about the notorious Greek terrorist organization.
Kevin Featherstone is Eleftherios Venizelos Professor in Contemporary Greek Studies and Professor in European Politics. He is the Director of the Hellenic Observatory and Co-Chair of LSEE: Research on South-East Europe within the European Institute. He has held visiting positions at the University of Minnesota; New York University; and Harvard University. Before LSE, he held academic posts at the universities of Stirling and Bradford. In 2009-10 he served on an advisory committee to Prime Minister George Papandreou for the reform of the Greek government. He was the first foreign member of the National Council for Research and Technology (ESET) in Greece, serving from 2010-2013. He is Vice-Chair of the Academic Council of 'Atomium Culture', Brussels, a not-for-profit promoting collaboration within the European Research Area. In 2013 he was made ‘Commander: Order of the Phoenix’ by the President of the Hellenic Republic. In 2014, the European Parliament selected one of his books (co-authored with Kenneth Dyson) as one of its ‘100 Books on Europe to Remember’. He has contributed regularly to ‘Kathimerini’.