I’ve always wanted to use a Sex Pistols tune in a headline. But it’s not far off the mark as Theresa’s Tottering Tories have given up all pretense of running the British government and have reduced even this High Tory Anglophile to disgust and apprehension over the days to come.
The latest travesty, only to be likely supplanted by another one today, is that by 321-278 the House of Commons yesterday ruled out a No Deal Brexit anytime and anyplace. PM May only wanted a nix on No Deal per the current end of the month deadline. However, just to twist the knife a little harder, the Commons upped the ante and closed the door on No Deal forever. American cognescenti look on with pained resignation at the entire dog’s breakfast of the befuddled exit process.
Yes, the vote was non-binding and the March 29th Brexit Article 50 deadline still looms with no firm answer in sight. The vote today will be to extend the deadline until June 30th.
But we’re not total gits and even the slowest of us, like the entire leadership of the Labour Party, know this stall is just a sham. Those who hate Brexit in its totality and want it dead will stop at nothing to see that happen. And I can’t just blame this on Labour. There are dozens of Tory rebels who are just as set, if not more so, on saying sod off to the expressed will of the British electorate. The PM being one of them to a certain extent. The only Brexit they will tolerate is no Brexit at all.
If the extension passes today a vote will be held once again on the PM’s flaccid Brexit proposal. She hopes the recent complete debacle will convince her opponents that hers is the best deal they will get. This vote will happen next week unless House of Commons Speaker John Bercow throws a penalty flag on the redundancy of the measure compared to past measures already voted down. That would be a rarely used, but possible, move by the highly ego-driven and rules be damned very Wet Tory Speaker. So the choice is now between Brexit that is not really Brexit and a worse Brexit than that down the road.
Ah democracy, so inspiring!
