The pressing political question of the United Kingdom’s survival will be the subject of a public lecture at Aberystwyth University.

‘Fractured Union’ will be delivered by Professor Michael Kenny, an expert on the UK constitution, national identity, and territorial politics.

The lecture will be hosted by Aberystwyth University’s Centre for Welsh Politics and Society as part of a new series of events on Constitutional Futures.

Professor Kenny, who is Director of the Bennett Institute for Public Policy at the University of Cambridge, will discuss his newly published book ‘Fractured Union: Politics, Sovereignty and the Fight to Save the UK’ (Hurst, 2024).

Drawing upon a body of interviews conducted over several years with Ministers, MPs and civil servants, Professor Kenny has explored the pessimism within politics about the long-term viability of the British Union.

His lecture will consider the crises and tensions within the Union, the complexities and challenges created by devolution, and discuss how seismic events such as the Scottish independence referendum, Brexit, and the Covid pandemic have fuelled tensions between Westminster and the devolved administrations.

The lecture takes place on Monday, 29 April in the Main Hall of the International Politics Building on Aberystwyth University’s Penglais Campus.