The Brexit process has “fundamentally changed” how government operates and will have an enduring effect on the political landscape, a report has said.
Published on the day the UK had been scheduled to leave the European Union, the study by the Institute for Government looks at how the structures and functioning of government have been impacted following the 2016 referendum result.
Preparing to leave the bloc has posed a challenge that cannot be met simply by extra resourcing, and has put the civil service under “unprecedented” pressure, the report finds.
While government departments have grown significantly, existing work has been put on hold to cope with Brexit, leaving staff’s roles and significance in a state of flux, it warns.
“Thirty-three months since the EU referendum, the Brexit effect on government is considerable and far from over”
The process is also said to have “catalysed a constitutional upheaval”, exposing problems with the devolution settlement and challenging the authority of the Prime Minister.
The report highlights that more ministers have already resigned from Theresa May’s Government in 2019 than any other recent PM lost in a full year, and says the traditional concept of collective responsibility has buckled under the pressure of the process.
It also finds that MPs have become more willing to stand up to the Government.
“The Government has tried to keep Parliament at arms-length, but parliamentarians have fought back,” it adds.
“They have become more assertive about their role and authority, challenging conventions to ensure their voices are heard.”
Brexit has also put the two-party system under threat, the report says, with the issue having divided both main parties.
And in the longer term, Brexit could “reshape the landscape of government”, it adds, with no guarantees major departments, such as the Department for Exiting the European Union, will continue to exist.
Bronwen Maddox, director at the Institute for Government, said Brexit would have an “enduring effect on our government”, whatever the outcome.
“It has fundamentally changed the shape of the civil service, the functioning of parliament and how government operates,” she said.
“Thirty-three months since the EU referendum, the Brexit effect on government is considerable and far from over.”
Lewis Lloyd, author of the report, added: “Implementing the result of the 2016 EU Referendum has set an unprecedented test for the UK Government - one that it has yet to pass.
“Brexit has challenged the status quo, upending conventions and inviting us to rethink how government, and politics more broadly, work in the UK.”