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Welcome to the briefing room with me, David Aronovich.

The idea is that you and I step into a large room crammed with computers, maps, reference books and top experts,

whose only job is to give us the most thorough briefing possible on the burning questions of the day.

And our question today is, is Brexit dividing Britain in a dangerous and unprecedented way?

And if you enjoy this podcast, you might enjoy other editions of the briefing room,

which are all available on BBC Sounds.

For instance, if you've been wondering what the Norway option is,

you could always listen to our programme on that.

The air is thick with warnings about where the great Brexit quarrel may be taking us as a people.

If I've heard one warning of civil disturbance or bitter dissension, if X or Y happens, I've heard a hundred.

And today the chairman of the National Police Chiefs Council warned of anbrile atmosphere and asked individuals that have

a platform and have a voice not to inflame people's views. So today in the briefing room, I want

to know what the evidence is for these worries and what history suggests about the truth of the

proposition that we're in danger of some kind of social

meltdown. Step inside the briefing room to find out. First, what is it that makes Brexit so

uniquely divisive? Or is it symptomatic of other shifts underway in the British population?

The briefing room Serena Tarling has been speaking to Professor Sarah Hobolt

from the London School of Economics who's been looking at the impact of Brexit on national

identity, and the sophologist Professor Sir John Curtis from the University of Strathclyde.

The two most popular options are either to leave without a deal

or to hold another referendum in the hope and expectation that we will change our minds.

...