Professor Brendan Simms and Dr Hugo Bromley are working on the development of the UK Union Programme, which will constitute a major new research area for the Centre.
The programme invites historians, political economists and policymakers to take a step back and look at the longer history of the political institutions that make up the ‘four nations’ of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Crucially, it also asks how we can build a strong political institutional system in which every citizen feels they have an equal voice while encouraging political decision-making that works in the interests of the entire United Kingdom.
The programme’s two major objectives are:
• Exploring the academic debate through a historical lens
• Bringing historians closer to policymakers
Through both, the programme will maintain a close focus on the longer history of the Union, and how the past can inform the challenges it faces today.