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LONDON, July 26-- Britain could remain for years in a transitional arrangement with the European Union, a leading academic expert in politics has predicted. It could even lead to Britain never actually leaving the EU as negotiators come to terms with the complications of striking a "Brexit" deal, said Dr Stuart Wilks-Heeg, head of politics at the University of Liverpool. In an interview with Xinhua, Wilks-Heeg also said the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), the party set up to champion Brexit, could virtually disappear from Britain's political landscape. David Davis, the government Secretary of State for Exiting the EU, is currently heading negotiations with Brussels about Britain's withdrawal as a member state in March 2019, two years after triggering the article 50 exit mechanism. Former prime minister David Cameron called the national referendum in June 2016 after he had led unsuccessful talks with Brussels in a bid to tackle growing issues in Britain, particularly high levels of immigration. Wilks-Heeg believes had those talks delivered a solution, the referendum may never have happened. Even so, Cameron, like many others, strongly believed British people would vote to stay in the EU. The result to leave came as shock, with Cameron quitting 10 Downing Street within hours of the result being declared. Wilks-Heeg said: "It is clear we are heading for a transitional arrangement with Brussels, and as we end up half-in, half-out, things could just slip down the agenda. That could see us in this transitional stage indefinitely, and possibly almost permanently." | 
