Brexit: A Love Story?

BBC Radio 4

You know we’re leaving the EU but this is the story of how the UK got here. Mark Mardell uncovers the fractious yet intriguing story of Britain’s relationship with the EU.

  • 18 minutes 35 seconds
    25. The Purge

    Revolution is afoot in the Conservative Party - with many Tory MPs threatening to vote against the new Prime Minister's deal - while Boris Johnson himself is threatening to boot them out of the party if they do.

    Mark Mardell follows the twists and turns as this love story comes to a close.

    Email: [email protected]. Twitter: #BBCWATO

    4 September 2020, 5:00 pm
  • 19 minutes 38 seconds
    24. The Centre Cannot Hold

    With problems in Parliament trying to get consensus on a withdrawal agreement, it seemed the main political parties were edging away from the centre ground. Did this leave a vacuum for a new movement?

    In 2019, more or less simultaneously, a new party started and a new campaign launched, both supporting a so-called People's Vote on any Brexit deal. The Independent Group - or Change UK, as they came to be known - was not without challenges. Neither was the People's Vote campaign. Eventually, the friction came to be personal. Mark Mardell speaks to the people involved about where it all went wrong.

    Email: [email protected]. Twitter: #BBCWATO

    2 September 2020, 12:45 pm
  • 19 minutes 21 seconds
    23. Three Strikes and You're Out!

    Emotions run high as Theresa May tries to get her Withdrawal Agreement through Parliament, and fails. Not once, not twice but three times. Meanwhile the European Research Group (ERG) grows in influence and now firmly holds Parliament in the balance. Each day seems to wear away the Conservative’s party cohesion. And while Mrs. May’s government will try again and again if necessary, there will be a cost.

    Mark Mardell takes a look behind the news reports of the day, into the meeting rooms and corridors of Westminster, and reveals the private tensions of the party’s existential crisis.

    Email: [email protected]. Twitter: #BBCWATO

    2 September 2020, 9:54 am
  • 19 minutes 10 seconds
    22. The Spartans

    After Theresa May's so called Chequers plan failed to impress, the Prime Minister faced another problem within her own party. A group of eurosceptics were gaining interest, members and momentum.

    The European Research Group (ERG), or the Spartans as they came to be known, had previously been a small organisation on the fringe of politics. In 2018, they fought their way to the front line. As Mark Mardell follows the twists and turns of Britain's 45 year relationship with the European Union, Mrs May must meet her newest challengers.

    Email: [email protected]. Twitter: #BBCWATO

    31 August 2020, 12:42 pm
  • 15 minutes 5 seconds
    Brexit: How did we get here?

    In this one-off special episode of Brexit: A Love Story?, Mark Mardell recaps the journey Britain has taken from joining the European Economic Community in 1973 to voting to leave the European Union in 2016.

    Email: [email protected]. Twitter: @BBCWorldatOne

    31 January 2020, 3:39 pm
  • 21 minutes 24 seconds
    21. Checkmate at Chequers

    After months of talks, haggling and negotiations, the Prime Minister invited the entire cabinet to her country retreat in Buckinghamshire to present her proposed deal. The mercury was running high, as were tensions; it was reported that Downing Street officials made it clear if ministers weren't happy with the deal, they could leave but would have to give up their ministerial cars and take a taxi home. Hours later, and the Chequers deal was finally done. People seemed pleased... but for how long?

    Mark Mardell revisits the events of that day and finds out from those there what really went on.

    Email: [email protected] Twitter: @BBCPM

    23 April 2019, 4:55 pm
  • 21 minutes 58 seconds
    20. The path to a meaningful vote

    Running alongside the Government's negotiations with the European Union has been a complex - and at times fraught - discussion in Parliament about how much say MPs should have on the final Brexit deal.

    Mark Mardell navigates MPs' journey for a meaningful vote on the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement.

    Email: [email protected] Twitter: @BBCPM

    22 April 2019, 5:02 pm
  • 20 minutes 16 seconds
    19. The election that broke Brexit

    When Theresa May called a surprise general election that she'd ruled since she took office, with the aim strengething her mandate ahead of tricky Brexit negotiations, nobody could have predicted that she'd end up losing her overall majority in the Commons.

    Mark Mardell dissects the campaign itself, and the impact on Britain's departure from the European Union.

    Email: [email protected] Twitter: @BBCPM

    19 April 2019, 4:58 pm
  • 20 minutes 31 seconds
    18. Dexeu: Brexit from a broom cupboard

    Even before she became Prime Minister, Theresa May pledged a new government department that would oversee Britain's departure from the European. Not just that, but the department would be run by a leading Brexiteer. How much influence did David Davis - the first Brexit secretary - have? Who was really leading negotiations? And was it all simply a political manoeuvre on the Prime Minister's part?

    Mark Mardell delves into the corridors of Whitehall and the new Department for Exiting the European Union, to find out what was really going on behind the doors of No 10 and No 9 Downing Street.

    Email: [email protected] Twitter: @BBCPM

    18 April 2019, 4:59 pm
  • 1 minute 55 seconds
    Coming soon

    If you’re getting bogged down in Brexit… maybe it’s time to take a step back and get some perspective.

    After a hiatus to allow the day-to-day events to unfold, Mark Mardell returns with his in depth look at Brexit... New episodes available soon.

    #brexitlovestory

    Email: [email protected] Twitter: @BBCPM

    28 March 2019, 4:52 pm
  • 17 minutes 44 seconds
    17. Lancaster House and red lines

    January 2017 and Theresa May delivers her now infamous Lancaster House speech. But how was it decided what it would say and where it would be said?

    Mark Mardell dissects whether the speech backed the Prime Minister into a corner by setting out her red lines, or if it was merely the start of the long negotiating process.

    Email: [email protected] Twitter: @BBCPM

    14 December 2018, 5:59 pm
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