Blame for Parliament over Brexit left scars on British politics

The arguments over parliament's role in Brexit left "scars on our politics", at a time when public trust in our core democratic institutions is more crucial than ever in responding to the Covid-19 crisis, says a UCL and UK in a Changing Europe analysis. In a new paper, in Parliamentary Affairs , Professor Meg Russell finds that four political and constitutional factors contributed to a parliamentary 'perfect storm' over Brexit. This brought parliament's role hugely into the public eye, and often into question. But the paper concludes that parliament got largely unfairly blamed for divisions inside the governing Conservative Party. The analysis examines what went wrong over Brexit and sets out the important lessons learned. The findings are timely given parliament is back in the spotlight due to new divisions over whether the 'hybrid' House of Commons has been ended too soon. In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, when difficult decision making is crucial, this report highlights the urgent need to rebuild parliament's reputation.