Editorial

The Guardian view on May and Brexit: a prime minister gone rogue

Theresa May has put no deal firmly back on the table in flagrant defiance of parliament and the dictates of responsible government

Wed 20 Mar 2019 18.31 GMTLast modified on Wed 20 Mar 2019 19.10 GMT

Theresa May arriving at parliament on Wednesday. ‘Her political capital is all spent. She has no allies at home or abroad.’ Photograph: Facundo Arrizabalaga/EPA

To achieve anything in EU diplomacy it helps to speak European. That does not require a command of continental languages. What matters, when dealing at the highest level in Brussels, is an ability to acknowledge the common political and economic interests that underpin the whole European project.

Theresa Mayhas no fluency in that idiom. She cannot even fake it. Since becoming prime minister, her relations with the EU have been marked by tin-eared diplomacy. She is bad enough at cultivating relationships in Westminster. In Brussels she has none.

May’s latest screeching U-turn makes her utterly unfit to lead

Wed 20 Mar 2019 16.20 GMTLast modified on Wed 20 Mar 2019 19.17 GMT

‘This latest example is the Russian doll of reversals, with several other reversals contained within it.’ Photograph: Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters

No matter how bad you think Theresa May is, she always manages to get worse. Her record of insisting on one thing, only to U-turn weeks, days or even hours later is almost impressive in its scope. There would be no snap election, she vowed – and then there was one. Her Brexit deal would be subject to a meaningful vote in December– and then the vote was pulled, punted into the new year. Brexit would happen on 29 March – and now it won’t.

This latest example is the Russian doll of reversals, with several other reversals contained within it. For just last week, May’s de facto deputy, David Lidington, was adamant that any delay to Brexit would have to be lengthy, since a short, one-off extension would be both pointless – leaving too little time to do anything – and “downright reckless”, as well as being “completely at odds with the position” MPs had taken the previous evening. May had told the Commons that, if MPs voted down her agreement with the EU – which they did – she would be seeking a long extension. She delivered the same message to the cabinet only yesterday.

Not too surprisingly the option of the government to send the same decision back to the House of Commons, until they come up with the ‘correct’ answer has been blocked by the Speaker.

It has been clear for some time now that John Bercow sees himself as a leading protagonist in our political drama, not some bystander. Even before Theresa May’s deal was bogged down in parliamentary trench warfare, the Commons Speaker had styled himself as a warrior on behalf of the legislature, defending it against arrogant incursions by government. But kicking May’s withdrawal agreement out of the chamber altogether yesterday was a ferocious escalation.

But what next? This result was clear again but what will happen next? A ‘No deal’ exit will likely be voted against tomorrow but then what happens? The options are a few and where a positive outcome lie is not clear.

They meaningful arrives today after being delayed from December as Theresa May tried to make the deal more palatable and with an improved change of acceptance by the House of Commons, and in particular, her own party MPs. However, the expectation is that the agreement will be voted down in large numbers. So nothing gained and more time lost.

So what next? All the possible outcomes remain in place with the ‘ no deal’ route the default option if it is not positively voted down. Political fever today. The first voting is this evening and we shall see which way events turn. There are plenty of articles written providing the spectrum of opinions that reflect the options and the divided nation on this very important subject.

By legitimising talk of no deal, May sanitised one of the most toxic ideas in British politics. https://t.co/kyiZXZJSrs— Rafael Behr (@rafaelbehr) December 10, 2018

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/dec/10/no-deal-brexit-theresa-may

I can’t follow anymore. After two years of negotiations, the Tory government wants to delay the vote. Just keep in mind that we will never let the Irish down. This delay will further aggravate the uncertainty for people & businesses. It’s time they make up their mind! #brexit— Guy Verhofstadt (@guyverhofstadt) December 10, 2018