UKICE Annual Conference 2023

Join us at our annual conference as we reflect on the era-defining decision to leave the European Union. Seven years on, we will be joined by academics, policymakers and journalists to discuss Britain’s place in the world and its relationship with Europe. As we head towards the next general election, the conference will survey the changing economic landscape and the current state of British politics.

Doors open at 9:00.

To attend in-person please sign up using this Eventbrite link.

To join us online please sign up using this Eventbrite link.

Please note that the below timings and other details are subject to change.

9.30: Welcome

9.35: Opening Keynote

Chair: Anand Menon (Director, UKICE)

The Rt Hon Andrea Leadsom MP (Member of Parliament for South Northamptonshire; Former Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and Former Leader of the House of Commons)

10.15: Panel 1: The UK in a changing world

The UK’s international relationships have been a subject of debate since the referendum. This panel will consider the nature of those relationships, how they have evolved, and how they might develop in the future.

Chair: Anand Menon (Director, UKICE)

Sir Lawrence Freedman (Emeritus Professor of War Studies, King’s College London)

Margaret MacMillan (Emeritus Professor of History, University of Toronto and Emeritus Professor of International History, University of Oxford)

Rana Mitter (Professor of the History and Politics of Modern China, University of Oxford)

Oliver Robbins (Hakluyt & Co)

11.15: Break

11.30: Panel 2: UK-EU relations

Brexit has fundamentally altered UK-EU relations. The relationship has still not settled into a coherent pattern. This panel will consider where things stand and how the relationship might evolve.

Chair: Catherine Barnard (Senior Fellow, UKICE)

Katy Hayward (Professor of Political Sociology, Queen’s University Belfast)

Stefaan De Rynck (Author, Inside the Deal: How the EU Got Brexit Done)

Simon Usherwood (Senior Fellow, UKICE)

12.45: Lunch

1.30: Panel 3: The UK after Brexit: the economics

What has been the impact of COVID, the war in Ukraine, and Brexit on the UK economy and its position in the global economy?

Chair: Sarah Hall (Deputy Director, UKICE)

Ben Chu (Economics Editor, BBC Newsnight)

James Meadway (Director, Progressive Economy Forum)

Jonathan Portes (Senior Fellow, UKCE)

Gemma Tetlow (Chief Economist, Institute for Government)

2.30: Break

3.00: Panel 4: UK after Brexit – where is politics going?

The panel will analyse the latest data on voting intention and public opinion, and assess where things stand and what the prospects are for the next election.

Chair: Paula Surridge (Deputy Director, UKICE)

Kelly Beaver (Chief Executive, Ipsos)

John Curtice (Senior Fellow, UKICE)

Peter Kyle MP (Member of Parliament for Hove and Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland)

Sebastian Payne (Director, Onward UK)

4.30: Closing Keynote

Chair: Sarah Hall (Deputy Director, UKICE)

Anneliese Dodds MP (Member of Parliament for Oxford East; Chair of the Labour Party and Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities)

5.30: Ends