The Brexit deal is a mess. Riddled with inconsistencies and with much heavy lifting to do in the transition period, it simply perpetuates uncertainty for another 18 months. The betting is that the transition period will be extended and this is what really scares hard Brexiteers. They fear we may never leave or not without a “Peoples’ Vote” which becomes more legitimate if it is several years hence. Hooray…they should be scared!
May’s deal leaves the UK as a EU rule taker without representation. It is unique to the UK but not in a good way. We had a unique deal in the first place with an EU budget rebate, being outside the Schengen Agreement and also the working time directive. None of this was discussed in the referendum let alone Northern Ireland, backstop agreements and an accurate, honest assessment of the divorce bill.
The politicians in this country have ironically been in full control of damaging the UK’s future. Congratulations to them. They have succeeded.
Yet it could have been worse… Admittedly a Norway style agreement might have worked better but this was long off the table. That left us with a no-deal scenario and everyone I have spoken to in government says they are sitting on information that would scare the public to death. The complacency of the Tories’ hard right, in the face of facts they well know, is genuinely shocking.
So well done Theresa May for getting some sort of deal. Her tenacity and sense of public duty in crossing a temporary finish line is magnificent to behold. The punishment she has taken from colleagues, particularly from those wishing to remove her at a crucial stage of negotiations, is quite frankly a disgrace; the experience of watching the dramas unfold has been akin to a scary fairground ride or horror movie; the Opposition, not fit to hold that title, has opposed with ignorance, stupidity and self-serving drivel. The Prime Minister deserves a medal, her Party does not.
As for the future? My guess is that TM gets the deal passed, incredible as that seems at the moment, and hangs on to the Tory leadership for longer than people expect. Do Labour then lose patience with Corbyn? Not this side of the election.
As for the Tory Party as a whole? It has lost its reputation for loyalty, competence and common sense. It should fear a new centrist party as much as anyone. And for the mess they have put this country in, sad to say, it deserves everything it gets.
Inside Right Politics 