Protests against Trump in Britain may well signal the beginning of a new wave of AntiBrexit mobilisation

Dr Fabian Frenzel (pictured), from the University of Leicester’s School of Business, has suggested that the recent protests against President Trump’s travel ban, seen across the UK, could signal a new wave of Anti-Brexit mobilisation.

In an article for Think: Leicester, the University’s platform for independent academic opinion, Dr Frenzel says: “Brexit Britain has little choice but to seek closer ties with the US.

“Only the US has an economy strong enough to offer some replacement of the economic benefits of the single market. Via closer ties with the US the UK financial sector can hope to maintain its world leading position, even if EU markets becomes harder to access. Politically, it is only on the side of the USA that Britain may hope to have some relevance in the world, once its leaves the foreign policy co-ordination of the EU.

“Few people made the link between the Anti-Trump protests and Brexit last week. But it may well be that the unease and anger displayed results not simply from the politics of the new American president, but equally from the fear of being closely associated with it.

“The question many Britons may ask is: when we leave the EU, will we be forced into a closer alliance with Trump’s USA. The answer to that question is almost certainly yes. Brexit Britain needs closer ties to the US at the precise point where the US turns out to be a very dubious partner indeed. Protests against Trump in Britain may well signal the beginning of a new wave of Anti-Brexit mobilisation.”

Dr Frenzel’s full article for Think: Leicester is available here.