Drawing on a range of disciplinary, conceptual and theoretical approaches, this book analyses the complex interconnections between social policy formation and implementation in the European Union before and during the UK's membership. It explores the issues, debates and policy challenges facing the EU at different stages in its development, and shows how the UK promoted and hampered social integration. With the UK's decision to leave the EU as one of the greatest challenges in the EU's history, this book seeks to understand the role played by social policy in the referendum campaign and withdrawal negotiations, and considers what Brexit means for social policy development both in the UK and across the EU.

About the Author
Linda Hantrais is Emeritus Professor of European Social Policy at Loughborough University and former Visiting Professor at the LSE Centre for International Studies.

Reviews
"I recommend this book to everyone interested in understanding Brexit and the larger social-economic issues the UK faces. This study also will be of interest to those who seek to understand similar social-economic forces roiling the EU and United States." Roger Benjamin, Council for Aid to Education
"This excellent book provides both the beginner and the expert with a comprehensive reference work. It demonstrates how other policy areas have social policy implications, outlines the history of spill-over of EU competence and contextualises this in today's unavoidable Brexit debate." David Spence, London School of Economics
"This splendid book traces the development of social policy in the EU and the substantial, if ambiguous, contribution of the UK and the implications of Brexit for the UK and the EU." William Outhwaite, Newcastle University
"If you think Brexit is only about withdrawal and trade agreements then you're missing the bigger picture. As Linda Hantrais shows, social policy is at the heart of the underlying debates that shape Brexit, which are about the lives and struggles of UK and EU citizens." Tim Oliver, Loughborough University London
"This book is a must read for anyone who would like to make sense of the outcome of the 2016 UK referendum on membership of the European Union since social policy has always been perceived in completely opposing ways by the UK and its EU partners. The book's style and content make it appropriate for both the specialist and generalist reader." Ali M El-Agraa, Fukuoka University
"This is a useful book for students in setting out the contextual relationships between the UK and the EU on social policy and is to be welcomed for this." Journal of Social Policy



Book Information
ISBN 9781447337157
Author Linda Hantrais
Format Paperback
Page Count 160
Imprint Policy Press
Publisher Bristol University Press