This diary is going to be relatively brief. I am catching up on the coverage of Brexit, and wow, I am almost at a loss for words. Apparently earlier today, the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, made a statement that a third “meaningful” vote on May’s deal is not in the offing unless there are significant changes to the Brexit deal. Apparently, May cannot just keep bringing the same legislation to vote over and over again until she gets her way. This has created a Constitutional Crisis just days away from when the UK is supposed to leave the EU.
So what happens now? That is still being sorted out. I am under the impression that May will have to negotiate a fairly long extension of A.50 under the circumstances, and that in all likelihood that means that the UK will have to field candidates for the EU parliamentary elections coming up in a couple months. There is still some talk of finding a way to circumvent the Speaker in the meantime, although the May government has yet to get enough of her supposed legislative allies on board to make a meaningful third vote (whether a self-plagiarized version of the last one or not) unlikely at least this week. DUP seems to not be on board at all from what I keep reading.
Confused? You are not alone. I get the feeling that May and her Cabinet may be even more confused than the rest of us. Probably have been for quite some time.
I hope Frank Schnittger can fill in the details I missed, either in the comments here or with a diary of his own.
Note: “Anarchy in the UK” is a nod to the old classic punk tune by the Sex Pistols. Note too that I am well aware of the difference between anarchy (a philosophical position) and chaos (which is actually what is occurring in the UK t the moment).
Cheers.
