Morphet, JR; (2018) Autopilot or risk mitigation? How Whitehall is continuing to deliver post-Brexit EU policies. In: Wilson, A, (ed.) (Proceedings) PSA Annual International Conference 2018 - Politics of Our Times: Asking the Difficult Questions, 26 - 28 March 2018, Cardiff, Wales. Political Studies Association (PSA): London, UK. (In press).

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Abstract

When questions are asked about how the civil service is preparing for policy development and delivery beyond Brexit, it appears that there are activities being undertaken within Ministerial view and those, according to Jill Rutter of the Institute of Government, that are more likely to be submerged out of Ministerial sight. While the preparations for Brexit appear to be dominating Whitehall’s attention, particularly but not exclusively in the lead departments of DExEU, the Treasury and No 10, there is also some evidence that preparation for initiatives that the UK might have expected to implement in the next EU programme period 2021-2027 continue to be made. These include new approaches in transport policy, multi level governance, strategic planning and affordable housing. While many of these policy and implementation initiatives are not specifically identified with an EU policy within their domestic framing, as is the custom and practice of the UK civil service, their use of common language identifiers and outcomes suggests otherwise. Further, close discussion and engagement with officials working on these policies fix their EU provenance. This paper will examine the context for this policy continuity and discuss whether these actions are related to an approach to risk mitigation against a ‘no’ Brexit scenario emerging or whether they represent an auto-pilot response from civil servants and departments that have largely been left to their own devices outside the wider Brexit focus currently dominating government. A further issue may be that this approach represents a denial of a Brexit outcome by officials in the longer term. This paper offers an opportunity to consider the role of the civil service within the context of Brexit and its response to preparations for the future.

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