Philippe Legrain

Boris Johnson won the December 2019 UK general election on the promise that he had an “oven-ready deal” to “get Brexit done.” But while the UK did leave the EU in January 2020, Johnson’s deal included a deeply contentious protocol governing the special trade status of Northern Ireland. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s successful negotiation […]

Far-right populism is not dead, but it can be defeated. Are Europeans up to the task? Read my latest for Project Syndicate

Denmark’s Social Democrats won the election there this month on an anti-immigrant platform. So is immigrant bashing a vote winner for Europe’s beleaguered progressives? Read my latest for Project Syndicate

With the next few months set to be dominated by unseemly haggling over top EU jobs, starting with the presidency of the European Commission, it may feel like business as usual in Brussels. But if you take the longer view, there are good reasons to hope that EU democracy may be evolving in a positive […]

I contributed to a symposium published by The International Economy here. “Populist” is often used as a derogatory label for any popular political view that someone deplores. But although populism can take many forms, it has a specific meaning: populists claim to stand up for “the people” (their supporters) against the elites (their opponents, whom […]

A big reason why Western politics is in such disarray is voters’ pessimism about the future. 60% of Westerners believe today’s children will be “worse off financially than their parents”. Europeans are particularly gloomy. To paraphrase Hobbes, they expect youngsters’ lives to be solitary, poor, nasty, brutish – and long. When people doubt that progress […]

Read my latest briefing for OPEN. Join our mailing list to stay updated!

I posted the following thread on Twitter earlier. While some voted Labour cos they wanted Corbyn to win, many did so cos they thought he couldn’t. Doubt he cd win election except by accident 2. Clearly, some in UK r hard left. Many r fed up with austerity. Corbyn mobilised students & some who feel left […]

Celebrate Emmanuel Macron’s victory, but beware of pitfalls ahead. Populism is far from dead. My latest column for Project Syndicate

Theresa May is likely to win the UK’s snap election on 8 June. A big parliamentary majority and not having to face voters again until 2022 could give her more flexibility in negotiating and implementing Brexit. But contrary to what she claims, that wouldn’t strengthen her negotiating position vis-a-vis the EU; if anything, it would […]

I was interviewed about the French elections by Spanish newspaper La Razón. Read it here

Far-right populists pose a grave threat to Europe’s open liberal societies. Here’s how to defeat them. My column for Project Syndicate

I was interviewed by Michael Cottakis of the 1989 Generation Initiative for Euractiv

One consequence of the Paris attacks is that Britain’s renegotiation of its EU membership has been delayed. With the risks of Brexit rising by the day, David Cameron’s priority should be to complete the renegotiation as quickly as possible, declare victory, and start campaigning vigorously on the broader reasons why Britain should stay in the […]

My column for SvD on why the December Agreement between Sweden’s mainstream political parties is a mistake. The Sweden Democrats may have been marginalised in parliament, but they have been strengthened in the country as a whole

An excellent pamphlet by Jeremy Cliffe, The Economist’s new Bagehot columnist, explains how a number of long-term trends are likely to create a cosmopolitan liberal majority in Britain. This poses big challenges, and big opportunities, for existing political parties. I wrote a response to the pamphlet for Policy Network and argued in CapX that while Labour […]

Spanish voters are deserting corrupt, incompetent establishment parties. It’s time for a change. My column for Foreign Policy

Britain’s election today is wide open. But whether we end up with a Conservative or Labour-led government, the SNP looks set to be a big winner in the years ahead. My column for Foreign Policy

I spent the weekend in the Irish city of Limerick, where a wonderful group of citizen activists organised Limerick Spring, to encourage others to become politically active and change Ireland – and Europe – for the better. Thank you for inviting me. While I was there I was interviewed by the Irish Times on Greece’s […]

My article for Brussels Times