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Jim Buller graduated from the University of Warwick with a BA in Politics (1991) before going on to complete an MA in British Government and Politics from the University of Essex (1992). He then gained an ESRC studentship to undertake a PhD at Sheffield University on the Thatcher Government and the Single European Act, which was supervised by Martin Smith and Andrew Gamble. In November 1995, he was appointed as a Lecturer in Politics at the University of Birmingham. Joined the Politics Department at the University of York in 1999, where he teach on a range of modules, including British politics, public policy, and the European Union.

Events over the last few days should have put a spring in the step of the euro-sceptics in Britain. The recent draft paper setting out the basic parameters of David Cameron’s renegotiation deal was savaged by the press last week. A YouGov poll for The Times on the weekend put the Leave campaign nine points in front (although research was carried out on line and such a methodology proved to be problematic during last year’s general election). More generally, the European Union (EU) is perceived by many to be in crisis, buffeted by the twin threats of sovereign debt default (especially in Greece) and large scale migration from the Middle East. On the face of it, it looks like a …