The UK is on the cusp of leaving the EU. But what lies ahead for the United Kingdom remains uncertain. What sort of trade deal will the new government seek with the EU? What will that mean for relations between the four governments of the UK? How will the battle for sovereignty within the UK play out in the months and years ahead?

Philip Rycroft, formerly Permanent Secretary of the Department for Exiting the EU and head of the UK Governance Group in the Cabinet Office with responsibility for constitutional and devolution issues, will examine the new government's intentions and ask what the future might hold for the United Kingdom itself.

Speaker biography

Philip Rycroft was Permanent Secretary at the Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU) between October 2017 and March 2019. As Permanent Secretary, he had responsibility for leading the department in all its work on the Government’s preparations for Brexit. Before taking up this role, he was Second Permanent Secretary at DExEU.

Philip was appointed Second Permanent Secretary, Head of UK Governance Group in the Cabinet Office in June 2015, with responsibility for constitutional and devolution issues, and retained this role until March 2019.

From 2012 to 2015 he was the Director General in the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office, supporting the Deputy Prime Minister across the full range of his policy interests. Prior to that, he was Corporate Affairs Director at Hutchison Whampoa (Europe) Ltd.

Previous roles have mainly been in government, including:

• Director General, Innovation and Enterprise and Chief Executive of the Better Regulation Executive in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
• Director General, Education in the Scottish Government
• Head of the Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department in the Scottish Executive.

Philip also spent time on secondment from government with Scottish & Newcastle plc and in the Cabinet of Vice-President Leon Brittan in the European Commission.