Well, they say you should never Google your own name... I guess now I know why!
I am the author of the article in question. It is gratifying to know that *somebody* actually read it.
My first point would be to clarify that I resigned from the civil service before writing the article. My duty to the civil service code, which requires impartiality amongst other things, ended at the time of my resignation. The article is clearly an opinion piece, which one might have thought was obvious from its publication on a site called “BrexitCentral.” It doesn’t pretend to be anything else. I think the publishers slightly overplayed it as an insider’s view, but that wasn’t my doing.
Throughout my time at DExEU I abided fully by the civil service code and carried out my duties to the best of my ability, even where I disagreed with what I was being asked to do. A certain cognitive dissonance is expected of civil servants in Whitehall, whereby one takes pride in their work despite sometimes profoundly disagreeing with its direct consequences. Sir Humphrey sums it up best: “most government policy is wrong, but frightfully well carried-out.”
A few of you have pointed out that I worked in a shop before joining the civil service. This is perfectly true. I was 19 at the time; there are very few 19-year-old experienced diplomats! I joined DExEU through an apprenticeship scheme called Fast Track. There were 7 places available for every 220 applicants in 2017, so I must have done *something* right. Applicants were subject to extensive vetting, including an eight-hour interview and observation process overseen by existing civil servants at the final stage.
Let’s be clear; I was never in Brussels negotiating treaties with Barnier. I was a paper pusher based in a converted broom cupboard in Whitehall. It was my first white-collar job and I was in no sense a senior official. Nonetheless, I was good at my job, built connections across the Department and paid attention to the things that came across my desk.
Where I refer to my team as the very best of the civil service, this is of course hyperbolic - I wanted to be clear that I was not criticising the people I worked with, liked and respected. I worked with a lot of people far cleverer than me.
As for the suggestion that I can’t possibly have written the article myself... I’m not sure if this is based on an assumption that people who work in supermarkets are all illiterate? I grew up in a deprived area and was not fortunate enough to attend university, but nonetheless I can assure you that I do not need Dominic Cummings to ghostwrite my inane ramblings for me.
Finally, regarding my C in A Level Economics... hey, it could be a lot worse. I failed Geography altogether. I don’t claim to be prodigious in any sense of the word - I am patently not. But I am slightly disheartened by what I can only describe as an undercurrent of snobbery amongst some in this thread, to the effect that people who work in shops and fail to achieve straight A*s in their exams should have no right to work in the civil service or express an opinion about current affairs.
Our politics benefits when we debate ideas rather than identities. It is slightly odd behaviour to find someone’s LinkedIn profile and use their background to discredit their views rather than engaging with their argument; but I suppose this is the world we live in now!
Anyway, moving on.
