After 2 tedious years of discussion, negotiation and public blaming (usually of the EU), the British Prime Minister Theresa May has finally conceded that Brexit cannot go ahead on March 29th – the date which she herself set in law for the departure of the UK from Europe. Rather however, than give themselves enough time to re-plan and re-negotiate a deal with the EU, or perhaps even to present the decision of how to proceed to the voters, the government has decided to ask only for a 3-month extension. To what end? According to the letter that Theresa May wrote to Donald Tusk, it remains her “…intention to bring the deal back to the house.”
Thus the Prime Minister wishes to re-present the same deal that has been defeated twice already to MPs! The speaker of the House of Commons however, has stated that the deal cannot be brought back to the House of Commons, unless the agreement is “fundamentally different – not different in terms of wording, but different in terms of substance” from that which has already been defeated. Yet we see from reading the letter that the Prime Minister has not asked the EU to re-negotiate the deal, merely for them to approve the supplementary documents which were previously agreed – and which incidentally were included in the consideration of the house for the last ‘meaningful vote’.
2 years ago, a date was set for the departure of the United Kingdom from Europe without any idea of what that deal might look like! That arbitrary date has proven untenable – as could be expected in any project without a defined end-goal, and both options (Deal or No Deal) have proven to be unpalatable for the MPs. Yet rather that face this head-on, the Prime Minister has decided instead to play chicken with the future of the United Kingdom… 3 months is not enough time to re-negotiate a deal, hence the only possible options which will remain at the end of this 3 months are the same two options as before.
I find this quite frankly appalling.
The entire Brexit process has been a pantomime involving all MPs of all parties; the only ones who have a clear idea of what they want are those 60 MPs who want to leave without a deal – and due to the lack of a government majority in the House of Commons, these 60 MPs have hamstrung the entire process. The desire to maintain its power and position over the desire to succeed in delivering a suitable plan for leaving the EU has led this government to a cliff-edge; one from which an entire nation will be forced to jump.
I find this not only appalling, but criminally negligent.
UPDATE: as of precisely 20 minutes ago, Donald Tusk responded to the letter saying that the EU would grant an extension ONLY if Parliament voted for the deal before the end of March. So not only is the British government playing chicken, but now the EU have joined in too. Presumably, if the Speaker allows the vote, and if the Commons vote it down, then it is No Deal for everyone!
Fucking brilliant – take it or leave it democracy at its finest!
The situation is appalling, arrived at by a mix of incompetence and intransigence. It is not the lack of a parliamentary majority which has caused it either, there is a majority for a softer Brexit. But the PM has continually bent to the will of the 60 ERG, MPs who want no deal. So effectively the ERG have been, and continue to run the country in terms of Brexit.
Tusk is correct in his answer to the PM, because he is referring to the deal ie the Withdrawal Agreement, which was negotiated and signed off by May. It is not Tusk’s fault that she cannot get the deal through the broken HoC.
What is likely to happen is that the HoC will take control of the process, by voting to take the decision out of the Government’s hands.
It is anyone’s guess from thereon. The Kyle/Wilson amendment, to pass the deal(WA) subject to a confirmatory referendum with the option to Remain on the ballot paper could be passed, now that May is seen as unfit to lead.
In addition the extra parliamentary activity of probably more than 1 million of our citizens who on Saturday will be calling for a People’s Vote will also have an impact on the outcome. After all recent history shows, that it was, and still is downhill all the way for Tony Blair who ignored the wishes of 1 million marchers who were against our participation in the Iraq War. The result of which, has seen millions of mainly Muslim people from a number of Middle East nations killed or made homeless.
Ignore the ‘will of the people’ at your peril.
Quite frankly, this story has been an enormous joke.
It is not only England being held hostage but ABOVE ALL Scotland who was threatened to be kicked out of the EU in case they went independent not long before the vote + all English people leaving out of the UK because they were not allowed to vote + Northern Irish…
All this for what!?
A f@*#’g prime minister who played with fire for short term personal agenda, 2 enormous a#*@ holes named Boris & Nigel who were everywhere to make false promises (and I am sure benefited financially from the situation) before simply disappearing (for Nigel) or being enormously insignificant for Boris – I can’t even believe you guys even accept them to speak in public without being dumped into tar & feathers… and a series of selfish lunatics who whether dream of something which doesn’t exist or gain personal wealth in the process.
And this, again, because of what?
Immigration? The UK isn’t even in Shengen area and free to do whatever they want.
Cost of the EU? The UK has always been the least contributor per GDP / citizen.
To be fair for the citizens, this vote should have been allowed only to people able to answer correctly to 20 questions about what the EU really is and howd specific to the UK it was.
Plus, it should have been a real enlightened choice:
“Do you want to live the EU AND accept, as a consequence, that if Scotland & Northern Ireland predominantly vote Remain, leave in turn the UK to remain into the EU?”
This vote has the same ground as the Gilet Jaune in the end : the rejection of an ever growing over-concentration of wealth & short-term selfish interests, the decay of our societies for the benefits of a few… it was just another way to express it.
“There’s class warfare, all right, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.”
– Warren Buffet
It has always surprised me that inequality in society brings with it the desire to look inward and to band together in ever-smaller groups – rather than to seek to target those responsible for the inequality, we easily accept the scapegoats with which we are presented by those in power… Brexit is as you say, another fine example of that approach. No wonder there is no drive to inform the general population of the reality of things, that would remove the ability of a government to blame another for its own failings.