It’s difficult to turn on the news without confronting the latest plot twist in the ever-unfolding drama that is Brexit. The turbulence of the political landscape could easily leave one rattled as the pantomime of colourful characters and unforeseen events playing out on the news reports seems a legitimate alternative to Netflix. The University of Cambridge’s ‘Brexit week’, organised in conjunction with ‘UK in a Changing Europe’, aimed to engage students and the community in discussion around the realities of this too-often dramatised narrative.

Thursday’s ‘Process and Politics’ talk offered an analysis of the legal dance of Brexit. Head of Department at POLIS Professor David Runciman provided insight, if only to verify the obscurity with which we are faced rather than elucidate it. The question of parliamentary involvement was quickly heralded as a key factor, as the risk of parliamentary organisation to manipulate the terms of any move towards pushing the big Brexit button plays on Theresa May’s micromanagement mind. Runciman denigrated this fear of effective opposition as unfounded.

Ultimately, Runciman declared that politics never stops, citing the Witney by-election taking place that day. When a comparison was made between the 10-1 odds against a Liberal Democrat victory and the 10-1 odds on a Trump win, Runciman noted that “the thing about one in ten chances, is that they tend to happen one in 10 times.” The roar of laughter didn’t quite mask the wisp of nerves.

Professor Mark Elliott, Professor of Public Law at Cambridge, gave a rundown of the formalities of leaving the EU containing, like all good instruction manuals, as much bewilderment as clarity. Elliott disparaged the ‘Great Repeal Bill’ as clever marketing and called the aftermath of Brexit “a Herculean task”. The suggestion of ‘Henry VIII’ powers being conferred on the executive to enable the gargantuan process of undoing EU law only augmented this sense of tragedy, with Elliott concluding that with such a potential transference of powers from the legislature to the executive, the stated aim of Brexit to restore legislative sovereignty “rings hollow.”

Brexit is the ‘tip of the iceberg’

The large turnout and eagerness to ask questions seemed to reflect the significance of a political moment quite unprecedented in many of our lifetimes. Both speakers led us through the winding, obscure passageways of the Brexit labyrinth, indicating the complexities of both the politics and process. The trajectory of Brexit’s plot? Like any good drama, it’s complicated.