Parties, Parliament and the Brexit Process

The 2016 referendum vote for Brexit is already having a significant effect on British political parties and the UK Parliament. It is reshaping the divisions within and between political parties, impacting upon the strategies adopted by parties and individual MPs, and requiring Parliament to adapt its structures and procedures as the Brexit process becomes a critical area of its activity. The proposed project brings together experts drawn from the fields of law and political science, who will work with the Industry and Parliament Trust to inform their research and ensure dialogue with policymakers and the business community.
The project combines analysis of the importance of institutions (e.g. parliamentary procedures and structures), and legislative and regulatory norms with an examination of the motivations and behaviour of political parties, individual MPs and the government. These are linked because internal party divisions, cross-party alliances and the differing preferences of MPs on Brexit will affect how - and how well - Parliament scrutinises the process of leaving the EU.
The purpose of this project is:
(1) To enhance understanding of how the Brexit vote has affected UK party politics, including divisions within and between parties, the positions and preferences of MPs, party positions in Parliament and party competition on EU issues. We will collect and analyse data on the positions on the EU issue adopted by parties and MPs since 2010, assessing how divisions within parties are changing and whether new patterns of cross-party cooperation are emerging.
(2) To develop knowledge of how Parliament has responded to Brexit in terms of its structures and procedures, and how effective this response has been. We will examine the work of the new Exiting the EU select committee, the European Scrutiny Committee and other departmental select committees, collecting data on and assessing divisions and cooperation within and across these bodies.
(3) To identify those areas of policy that have been most subject to conflict between and within parties and are most likely to change once the UK has left the EU. After Brexit, the UK Parliament will exercise regulatory control over a range of policy areas (e.g. environmental protection, farming, employment rights) which have hitherto been legislated for at the EU level. Parliament will make choices about how, and under what principles it wishes to legislate. We assess the extent to which MPs seek to formulate UK versions of existing EU legislation or continue to broadly adopt EU norms and standards. Our research on whether MPs behave according to traditional party affiliations, or new cross-party alliances and intra-party disputes emerge will also help to explain what factors shape the post-Brexit legislative agenda.
(4) To address the needs of key stakeholders by working with our impact partner the Industry and Parliament Trust (IPT) to: (a) better understand the interests and concerns of business and industry stakeholders regarding the Brexit process and the changes that Brexit is likely to bring to their activities; (b) foster effective dialogue between business and industry stakeholders and MPs, notably through a series of seminars and workshops; and (c) provide business and industry stakeholders with clear guidance and analysis of the role and activity of Parliament and MPs in the Brexit process.
(5) To maximise user engagement and public understanding by working with the Director of the ERSC UK in a Changing Europe Programme and other projects within it to: (a) synthesise and develop research on parties, Parliament and the transfer of competences; (b) disseminate our research findings to a range of stakeholders and the general public in an easily-accessible form through a variety of forums; and (c) lay the foundations for future research on the impact of Brexit.

The research project, which examines the challenges facing Parliament in the delivery of Brexit, will be of benefit to policy-makers, MPs, the business community and other interested stakeholders such as NGOs and charities. In summary:
- Policymakers and MPs will be able to obtain a better understanding of the impact of Brexit and its legislative and regulatory changes upon a diverse range of stakeholders and actors.
- The business community will be able to express specific concerns relating to future regulation of their sector and the consequences this may have e.g. the consequences of whether a 'hard' or 'soft' Brexit is pursued.
- NGOs and charities will be able to better assess the impact that Brexit will have on their ability to cooperate with other similar international actors and to influence the policy and legislative agenda.
The impact of this research on each of these beneficiaries will be as follows:
- Political and societal impact on policy makers and MPs. They will benefit from a normative, theoretical and legally substantive underpinning of their daily work. Our findings will provide for assistance to those who directly participate in the design of the parliamentary Brexit process. Policy makers and MPs will be part of the seminars and workshops organised with our impact partner, the Industry and Parliament Trust (IPT). Policymakers and MPs, together with specialist academic contributors will be invited to all our events and they will learn of our research findings through reports that are disseminated following each event. Furthermore, the project's website will contain information on our research findings from which they may benefit.
- The business community will benefit from our research because it will help them shape their response to Brexit and provide business with a better understanding of the procedural aspects of Brexit and how Brexit will affect regulatory governance of their economic sector. As the government's approach and objectives of Brexit becomes clearer throughout the duration of the project, we will be able to engage with business, through the forum of events organised with the IPT to provide a coherent analysis and explanation of what impact Brexit may have.
- Similarly, NGOs and charities will be invited to participate in IPT events and this will afford a broader societal consideration of the impact of Brexit that goes beyond Parliament and business. In the light of the importance of the voluntary sector in the UK to deliver a range of social services and the support which many organisations currently receive from the EU, engagement with this group of stakeholders will be important in order for them to have a better understanding of Brexit and how they should respond.
- More broadly the societal impact will embrace engagement with journalists and the media which will help to raise public awareness and provide a better understanding of the consequences of Brexit.
All beneficiaries will benefit from the broad open access dissemination of our findings through the project website and also through research findings and documents being made available through the UK in Changing Europe Programme website.