Summer 2016, and the Brexit referendum result cuts Britain down the middle - stunning Westminster and the world. It is the starting point of a series that will explore the consequences and reasons behind some of the most dramatic and chaotic political events seen in a generation. It will examine how close our political system came to breaking and if it will ever be normal again. Spanning the premiership of three prime ministers, episode one begins with Theresa May assuming office and holding the responsibility for delivering on the referendum result. We hear from senior civil servants who have never spoken before about the absence of a plan for achieving Brexit, which kick-starts months of anguished rows within the Conservative Party over what a deal with the EU should look like. For seven years, Laura was the BBC’s political editor and so held a ringside seat at these events. Talking now to ministers, advisers and officials who were in the room, we hear what was driving the division
In 2019, Boris Johnson won the election by a landslide. He turned the Labour heartlands blue, and it was a huge opportunity for the Conservative Party to make good on the Tory campaign promise to ‘Get Brexit Done’ following years of parliamentary stalemate. This episode charts how so much of that early optimism and opportunity was to be undone as Boris Johnson’s government struggled to deal with the crisis of Covid-19, just as a new, radical approach to civil service reform saw the relationship between ministers and their civil servants break down.
Talking to ministers, advisers and officials who were in the room, Laura examines Boris Johnson’s relationship with the truth and his downfall, as well as how Liz Truss was driven from office in just 45 days after wreaking economic and political havoc. And, drawing on her seven years as the BBC’s political editor, Laura adds her own considered reflections on the period.
