After The Vote [A Point Of View]

Episodes

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Broadcast
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01Onora O'Neill20160711

The philosopher Onora O'Neill criticises the standard of public debate on both sides of the European Union decision and asks how this democratic deficit can be repaired.
"The disarray that we now witness, and the retractions, revelations and recriminations that spill out on a daily basis, show that large parts of each campaign failed to communicate with the public, did not offer adequate or honest accounts of the alternatives, and did not provide the basic means for voters to judge the real options, the real opportunities or the real risks."
This is the first of a series of special editions of Radio 4's long-running essay programme, A Point of View, in which five of Britain's leading thinkers give their own very personal view of "Brexit" - what the vote tells us about the country we are, and are likely to become.
Producer: Sheila Cook.

Onora O'Neill criticises the standard of public debate on both sides of the EU decision.

A weekly reflection on a topical issue.

02Britain, Europe and the World20160712

In these special editions of Radio 4's long-running essay programme, A Point of View, five of Britain's leading thinkers, give their own very personal view of "Brexit" - what the vote tells us about the country we are, and are likely to become.

Today, the philosopher John Gray who has presented on Radio 4 for many years, argues that Britain should look to Brexit as a new beginning in which it "can throw off the dead weight of a failing European project".

He says we should now accept the new opportunities given to us and "make our home in a more spacious world".

Producer: Adele Armstrong.

The philosopher John Gray argues that Britain should look to Brexit as a new beginning.

A weekly reflection on a topical issue.

03Democracy After Brexit20160713

In these special editions of A Point of View, five of Britain's leading thinkers give their own very personal view of "Brexit" - what the vote tells us about the country we are, and are likely to become.

Today, the philosopher Roger Scruton reflects on democracy after Brexit and explains why he feels it is the ordinary people of this country who care about democracy, not the urban elites.

"The referendum gave these people a voice", writes Scruton, "and what they have told us is that their country, its laws and its sovereignty are more important to them than the edicts of anonymous bureaucrats striving to rule from nowhere".

Producer: Adele Armstrong.

The philosopher Roger Scruton reflects on democracy after Brexit.

A weekly reflection on a topical issue.

04Strategic Shift20160714

Peter Hennessy sees the UK's vote to leave the European Union as the biggest strategic shift in British history since the Second World War, rivalled only by the disposal of the British Empire. As a consequence, we need a serious national conversation using a new political vocabulary to tackle "multiple and overlapping anxieties".

"If we do hold that national conversation, rise to the level of events and draw on those wells of civility and tolerance, we may yet surprise ourselves - and the watching world - by the quality, the care and the foresight of what we do and what we say."

Producer: Sheila Cook.

Peter Hennessy sees the UK's vote to leave the EU as a profound strategic shift.

A weekly reflection on a topical issue.

05Brexit and our cultural identity20160715

The historian Mary Beard presents the last in the series in which some of Britain's leading thinkers give their own very personal view of "Brexit".

Mary Beard asks whether the referendum result will change our cultural identity.

And as she sits at a David Gilmour concert in the ancient amphitheatre at Pompeii, Mary reflects on the "New Europe that we British seem to be about to lose".

Producer: Adele Armstrong.

The historian Mary Beard reflects on whether Brexit will change our cultural identity.

A weekly reflection on a topical issue.