The United Kingdom in continuing Brexit mess: PM May in a new major defeat

The United Kingdom in continuing Brexit mess: PM May in a new major defeat

Chika Mori and Lee Jay Walker

Modern Tokyo Times

Prime Minister Theresa May needs to look long and hard at her standing because once more the House of Parliament delivered a negative vote for the leader of the United Kingdom (UK). The European Union (EU) must be wondering what is happening because parliamentarians are divided into various extremes. Therefore, May must be wondering what else she can do because the poison chalice is just that.

In truth, irrespective if pro-May or anti-May, it is abundantly clear that the poison chalice is a nightmare that no single political leader can solve. In fairness to May, this nightmare is down to the huge egos of past political elites across the spectrum – from David Cameron to Nigel Farage. Hence, no genuine contingency plans were made on how to leave the EU and what actions could be taken for a smooth transition. After all, most politicians believed that the majority of British voters would support remaining in the EU apart from individuals like Farage. However, the opposite happened because a slight majority decided to leave the EU.

Of course, you have no single voice within the business community but the majority will agree that this political fudge is endangering parts of the British economy. So, with May losing a second vote on her EU withdrawal by 149 votes, this will likely put more strains on certain sectors.

On the second EU withdrawal vote the BBC reports, “But although she managed to convince about 40 Tory MPs to change their mind, it was not nearly enough to overturn the historic 230 vote defeat she suffered in January, throwing her Brexit strategy into fresh disarray.”

The Chairman of the European Research Group of Brexiteer Members of Parliament, Jacob Rees-Mogg, stipulated, “the problem with the deal was that it didn’t deliver on the commitment to leave the EU cleanly and that the backstop would have kept us in the customs union and de facto in the single market.”

Unsurprisingly, the leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, once more stated that a Brexit no-deal must be “taken off the table.”

Corbyn continued, “The government has been defeated again by an enormous majority and it must accept its deal is clearly dead and does not have the support of this House.”

Reuters reports, “The vote puts the world’s fifth largest economy in uncharted territory with no obvious way forward; exiting the EU without a deal, delaying the March 29 divorce date, a snap election or even another referendum are all now possible.”

Of course, as Reuters also indicates, May might seek another vote to obtain parliamentary support based on the fear factor of pro-Brexit Members of Parliament. Hence, a good deal is unlikely because the Conservative Party is extremely divided and the main opposition party is more focused on a fresh election and political point scoring. Therefore, the continuing political mess will likely ensue and clearly, the electorate and business community are at a loss by the endless “nothingness” that keeps on occurring.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47547887

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu/britain-in-brexit-chaos-parliament-crushes-mays-eu-deal-again-idUKKBN1QT0ZQ

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