If anyone has any control over the slow moving car-crash that is UK Brexit planning, it’s Olly Robbins. While politicians posture, prevaricate, and occasionally resign, it’s up to the PM’s Europe adviser to both make things happen and ensure that said things don’t have any unexpected consequences. A career civil servant who was Gordon Brown’s principal private secretary, he came to Brexit prominence as he led the (now 600 strong) Department for Exiting the European Union. His move to No. 10 denoted an increasing prime ministerial wish to take personal control of a process widely seen as shambolic. Indeed, the perception of Robbins as a creature of the PM is the only factor that now detracts from his dominance – how secure May is in her grasp of power is, at best, arguable.
Higher education – as a strong visible advocate for Remain, a textbook example of the folk-devil that is the “elite”, and as a beneficiary of the many European networks, collaborations, and funding streams that exist – has a lot at stake. How well Robbins understands and communicates the details and benefits of continued collaboration – to his European counterparts and within government – will be key in these fragile months ahead.