‘Since this is a Document of Record’: Collecting the Oral Histories of the Brexit Parliament

Abstract

AbstractThis article brings together over thirty on‐the‐record interviews with politicians and political strategists at the centre of British politics during the Brexit gridlock. Prompting political elites to retell their oral histories allows us to begin to understand areas of institutional change and continuity, with the aim of beginning the process of ‘historicising’ Brexit. These interviews demonstrate three areas where the norms of the UK political system were tested and challenged between June 2017 and January 2020: attempts at sustained cross‐party activity in the House of Commons, efforts to rebalance legislative‐executive relations, and the temporary fluidity of the UK's party system. Boris Johnson's ultimate success during this period of (what is now) British political history provides a salutary lesson in the durability of majoritarianism within Westminster, even in the face of sustained challenge on multiple fronts.