Theme: Government & Parliament | Content Type: Journal article

Shrinking the United Kingdom: Rebranding the Realm after the Secession of the Irish Free State

David Torrance

Jan Gemerle ireland

Jan Gemerle

| 1 min read

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a century old, but while the secession of (much of) Ireland in the early 1920s has received substantial historical attention, its impact on the UK has been largely ignored. This article considers how the ‘official mind’ approached the issue of nomenclature before and after 6 December 1922, the point at which the Irish Free State (later the Republic of Ireland) came into existence. Through analysis of archival documents and public discourse, it is shown that discussion initially focussed on the King's style and titles before being extended to how the UK Parliament at Westminster was described. The influence of the Free State in these discussions is considered, as is the primary legislation which finally altered the royal and parliamentary titles in 1927.

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    David Torrance

    David Torrance is a constitutional specialist at the House of Commons Library. Before that, he was a freelance journalist and broadcaster. He is the author of more than a dozen books on Scottish and UK political history.

    Articles by David Torrance
Volume 95, Issue 2

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Volume 95, Issue 2

Includes a collection edited by James Hampshire on Immigration and Asylum Policy After Brexit, exploring how recent immigration and asylum policies reflect the ambivalent, unstable and unresolved meanings of Brexit itself. There are a wide range of other articles including 'A Hundred Years of Labour Governments' by Ben Jackson; and 'The Good, the Not so Good, and Liz Truss: MPs’ Evaluations of Postwar Prime Ministers' by Royal Holloway Group PR3710. Reports and Surveys include 'Addressing Barriers to Women's Representation in Party Candidate Selections' by Sofia Collignon. Finally, there is a selection of book reviews such as Nick Pearce's review of When Nothing Works: From Cost of Living to Foundational Liveability, by Luca Calafati, Julie Froud, Colin Haslam, Sukhdev Johal and Karel Williams; and Penelope J. Corfield's review of The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time, by Yascha Mounk.

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