Douglas Carswell's Blog

New EU deal, new EU deal makers

Many of the MPs who voted for an EU referendum this week did so because they have almost zero confidence in the ability of the Whitehall machine to deliver on any EU renegotiation.

Even if ministers wanted to repatriate powers, we know that Brussels deal-making is conducted through a Europhile Whitehall mandarinate. These grandees actually quite like a system of government based on deal making amongst grandees. But it's bad news for everyone else.

Instead of determinedly negotiating to get what Britain needs, mandarins see it as their role to broker a halfway house agreement between what ministers want, and what the Eurosystem is willing to accept. Indeed, Britain's EU delegation are as much in the business of managing ministerial expectations as driving forward talks to the UK's advantage.

If the government wants to be taken seriously when they claim they are determined to protect UK interests, they ought to start by sacking the mandarins who negotiated our way into this mess.

Do not believe the bull that it was all down to former Labour ministers. They might have put their name to the policy, but policy was scripted by the same set of officials who are writing it today.

A P45 for the current head of UKREP might focus a few of those Oxbridge educated minds.

Having done so, the Prime Minister could then appoint an individual who owes their position entirely to him and the Commons - not the Whitehall machine. Then at last we might have a deal maker who understood that their purpose was to advance British interests, not manage ministers - and explain why we can never get the deal we need.

Back to all posts