THE INFLUENCE OF BREXIT ON THE UK POLITICAL ELITES CIRCULATION

The article is devoted to the study of a vast, complex set of problems associated with the constant circulation, renewal and transformation of the political elites of the United Kingdom which are forced to constantly adapt to rapidly changing realities of the contemporary world. The decision to withdraw from the European Union made by the UK citizens on the referendum of the 23rd of June, 2016 significantly accelerated the processes of the political elite transformation that had become noticeable long before that remarkable event. In the given study, the authors address the question of whether the mentioned changes are simply the signs of the old elite adaptation to new political realities and voter preferences, or there is an emerging new political elite that is gradually replacing the old one. Three major factors such as peculiarities of various stages of negotiations, the change in Brexit strategies and the acute political crisis that arose due to the inability of T. May's Cabinet to achieve the ratification of the agreement concluded with European partners are analyzed. The authors assess their impact on the process of the renewal of top government officials responsible for making and implementing political decisions. In the present work, the phenomenon of the continuity of the British political elite, its inclination to reach compromises and rejection of extreme, radical points of view is investigated. The authors come to a conclusion that long historical experience of reaching consensus on controversial issues continues to have significant influence on the political elite of the United Kingdom and the processes of its evolution in a fast-paced world.