Taking back control? Democracy and UK trade policy after Brexit
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 23311319 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Stephen R Hurt (0000-0002-3331-9718, Oxford Brookes University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 21 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Publication date | 2026-12-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | British Politics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1746-918X • E-ISSN: 1746-9198 |
| Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1057/s41293-026-00310-2 |
| OpenAlex | W7171103175 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 36 |
During the Brexit referendum the Leave campaign claimed that the UK would be able to regain its sovereignty and ‘take back control’. Trade policy became a particular focus of the Conservative Government’s post-Brexit vision and underpinned the arguments in favour of leaving the customs union. This article evaluates the evolution of trade policymaking in the UK, from the Brexit referendum in 2016 until the Conservative defeat in the general election of 2024, and its consequences for democracy. It utilises two key insights from the framework of new constitutionalism to reveal the democratic deficiencies of the UK’s post-Brexit trade policy. In doing so, it argues that the governance of UK trade policymaking has failed to advance both parliamentary scrutiny and the scope for meaningful input from a range of stakeholders. In addition, the content of the new trade deals signed by the Conservative Government have further eroded democratic control, by undermining the prospects for a regulatory approach that can address the socio-economic and environmental challenges faced by the UK.
Brexit · Commercial policy · Comparative politics · Constitutionalism · Democracy · Parliamentary sovereignty · Referendum · Scrutiny · Sovereignty · European Union Policy and Governance · Political and Economic history of UK and US · Populism, Right-Wing Movements
New constitutionalism, democratisation and global political economy∗
Market civilization, new constitutionalism and world order
How do we make trade policy in Britain? How should we
When the global inhabits the national
Brexit and trade policy
Slow Rise of Trade Politicisation in the UK and Brexit
Taking back control
How did Brexit affect UK trade
Affirming Europe with trade
Brexit and ‘Global Britain’
European governance and new constitutionalism
Participation of Civil Society in EU Trade Policy Making
Bound by Gravity or Living in a ‘Post Geography Trading World’? Expert Knowledge and Affective Spatial Imaginaries in the Construction of the UK’s Post-Brexit Trade Policy
The UK’s new free trade agreements in the Asia-Pacific
Neoliberalism in the European Union
Business dimensions of EU’s new FTAs
The cultural foundations of trade policy
Covid-19, trade policy and agriculture in New Zealand
Performing trade
Post-Brexit trade policy in the UK
The Difficult Relation between International Law and Politics
Transcending Geography
The ambiguous impact of populist trade discourses on the international economic order
The Backlash Against Neoliberal Globalization from Above
| Highly cited | No |
|---|