Ep. 7 - The true cost of Brexit, with Greg Hands

Greg Hands has been involved in British politics and public life for over 30 years. He served as Member of Parliament for Chelsea and Fulham from 2005 to 2024 and held several key government roles, including Minister for the Budget, Energy, and Trade, as well as Chairman of the Conservative Party.

Brexit, he argues, definitively broke a taboo: a country as deeply tied to the European Union as the United Kingdom — in its legal frameworks, its trade, its daily life — chose to leave. And that choice came with a price.

In this episode, Hands explains how the British people experienced the referendum, the real role played by Nigel Farage in the Leave campaign, and the consequences of that decision — not only economic, but above all political. And he leaves us with an uncomfortable question: even if we disagree with Brexit, would we be ready to rejoin the EU under today's circumstances?

With reason, not rage.

In this episode:

• Eastern Europe and the legacy of the Wall
• Between Conservatives and Labour: an overview of the British electoral system
• Brexit and its legacy
• UK and EU: a future of cooperation?
• The Green Party and an overly broad coalition

Timestamps

1:50 1986–2026: the Hungarian parable

4:30 Nationalism in Eastern Europe

7:30 Margaret Thatcher would have liked Brexit?

12:00 Brexit broke a taboo

15:30 Nigel Farage is superficially popular

19:00 Would the UK rejoin the EU?

23:00 How far Brexit can go

26:40 The legacy of Brexit on trade agreements

31:30 The political impact of the referendum

35:00 An insight into the British electoral system

41:20 The UK Green Party's coalition is perhaps too broad

47:00 Risks of polarization in the UK political spectrum

49:30 You may not like the alternative to liberal democracy

Author and host: Ivan Scalfarotto

Editor and social media: Ludovica Taurisano

Graphic designer: Paola De Bartolo

Visual identity: Martina Santurri

Sound designer: Enrico Cabua