Brexit

Prime minister says civil servants are "impartial" and "hard-working" after criticism from Ukip

Role of the civil service is to "make sure that we prepare for an incoming prime minister to take decisions", Number 10 says – as constitutional experts flag up a lack of contingency planning for a Brexit vote

Victorious “Leave” campaigner – and chair of Parliament's Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee – tells CSW that there should be a new trade directorate and a rebranding of the entire Business department to reflect the nation's departure from the EU

Exclusive: Former head of the civil service Lord Kerslake tells CSW that key departments tasked with making Brexit work have been "stripped back" in recent years and will have to have an injection of resources

As Britain heads to the polls to vote on the the UK’s membership of the European Union, the result seems impossible to predict. But many are asking what, in practical terms, would happen if the country votes to leave. Here, Dr Alan Renwick of the UCL Constitution Unit gives a point-by-point overview of what the road to Brexit might look like

Exclusive CSW/Dods Research poll finds Tory MPs are much more confident than Labour and the SNP that Whitehall has resouces to deal with ramifications of a vote to leave the European Union

Chancellor threatens tax rises and says communities, transport and police budgets would get a further 5% cut if Britain votes to leave Europe – as Brexit campaigners hit out at a "blatant attempt to talk down the market and the country"

Special report: With just days to go until the EU referendum, civil servants will soon have more on their plates – whichever way the nation votes. Colin Marrs speaks to former senior officials and top civil service experts about the challenges a Brexit decision would pose for Whitehall, and why the alternative won’t necessarily mean "business as usual"

Whitehall commentators and insiders at odds over expertise and timescales for “conscious uncoupling” with Europe

Foreign Affairs Committee report says challenges of vote to leave would not be "insurmountable" for the Foreign Office – but makes clear the department would need a big boost in resources to cope with the fall-out

Former cabinet secretary says civil servants will be informally working on preparations for British exit from the European Union in spite of official assurances