EDITORIAL: Intriguing Brexit scenarios
Will May return from Europe with concessions big enough to win over sceptical Tories, could the party try to replace the prime minister, or will the Labour Party call a vote of no confidence?
It’s hard to credit. The UK, normally so adept, has somehow contrived to make a very poor situation worse. The nub of the Brexit problem is that Britons voted by a narrow majority against something rather than for something. They made a broad and principled decision about what they didn’t want, ignoring the practical consequences. Now, confronted with those concrete consequences, they feel cheated, angry, shortchanged and full of blame. The decision to leave the EU without deciding what would follow was bad enough, but circumstances have contrived to make things worse. Prime Minister Theresa May’s decision to call a snap election in 2017 unexpectedly weakened her hand so she now runs a minority government propped up by one of the parties from Northern Ireland, with her own party divided. To make matters worse, she has returned from Brussels with an agreement which includes, necessarily and predictably as it happens, an ugly compromise over the trickiest issue: the future of Northern...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.