Abstract
This concluding chapter summarizes the main findings of the book. It then examines the strategies of identification and division employed by the post-2015 Cameron government in the policy areas of higher education and Europe. Of particular concern are the case for introducing a Teaching Excellence Framework and the debate that took place during the 2016 referendum campaign over whether Britain should leave or remain in the EU. Next, the chapter discusses the rhetoric of identification employed by the Conservative minority government and the Democratic Unionist Party following their confidence and supply agreement in the aftermath of the inconclusive 2017 general election. After identifying lessons for future multi-party governments in the UK, it finally considers some productive avenues for further research on coalition politics.
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Notes
- 1.
UCU is ‘the largest trade union and professional association for academics, lecturers, trainers, researchers and academic-related staff working in higher and further education throughout the UK’ (UCU 2016).
- 2.
This idea also found expression in the Leave campaign’s belief that, on leaving the EU, Britain could immediately secure a trade deal with the US (Oliver 2016: 197).
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Atkins, J. (2018). The Legacy of the Coalition and Its Lessons for the Future. In: Conflict, Co-operation and the Rhetoric of Coalition Government. Rhetoric, Politics and Society. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-31796-4_8
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