Description
The Leave campaign in the Brexit referendum campaign repeatedly claimed that the UK would be able to ‘take back control’. Trade policy became a particular focus of their post-Brexit vision and underpinned the arguments in favour of the UK leaving the customs union. This paper evaluates what has happened since Brexit with respect to trade policymaking in the UK. The significance of this issue was highlighted by a joint campaign in 2018 by an informal coalition of business groups, NGOs and consumer groups, which called for a ‘robust modern, inclusive and democratic governance model to oversee trade policy that has broad legitimacy in society’. The central argument of this paper is that two interconnected aspects to democracy and UK trade policymaking need addressing. First, the policymaking process needs an overhaul so that both parliamentary scrutiny and the scope for input from a range of stakeholders is meaningful. Second, we also need to focus on the content of the trade deals signed by the UK Government, given that they can also erode democratic control through clauses that benefit the rights of transnational corporations.
