I watched May's statement and the subsequent debate yesterday. She looked utterly exhausted as if she was about to give up on the whole thing. She announced the date for the meaningful vote as week commencing 14th January claiming that negotiations are continuing with the EU to obtain more assurances. Many members accused her of running the clock down so that parliament would have to accept her deal because there would be no alternative. But the House did not appear to be on the way to a sudden unity, if anything it was the opposite.
We are heading for a constitutional crisis in the New Year for sure. It cannot be easy for the PM to stand at the despatch box and be metaphorically pummeled for several hours at a time. Against the barrage of criticism she looked ridiculously stubborn and lonely. She appears to be the only person who supports her own deal and is clinging to it like waterlogged wreckage in a storm. Everyone knows it will sink eventually.
Corbyn has tabled some arcane motion of censure in the PM although it falls well short of the nuclear no-confidence option and it's not known when the vote will be held since it has to be debated first. She will win it anyway so it amounts to nothing more than a mild slap on the wrist.
Robert Peston HERE on his blog has checked to see if any talks with the EU are actually taking place or are scheduled to take place. And there aren't. He muses about why she should mislead about it if it isn't simply an excuse to waste more time.
And we are informed the cabinet is to discuss planning and preparing for crashing out (HERE). The BBC says part of this will be to order British companies to begin immediate planning for a no deal exit. Listen for the howls of protest. It is still game playing. We cannot seriously leave without a deal. Peston discusses it and says it is a mystery, "why the Cabinet will meet on Tuesday to step up planning for and
spending on a no-deal Brexit, given that pretty much every minster (not
quite all) regards a no-deal Brexit at the due date as economic
self-harm on a scale the UK has never before inflicted on itself".
And the answer is that they aren't serious. It would not only inflict huge damage on the UK economy as Peston says, but would poison relations with the EU for years.
One is also fascinated that there are some cabinet members who apparently still think leaving without a deal is a runner. Who are they? We should be told so they can get proper treatment. The government has after all boosted spending on mental health recently.
But playing to the charade, and possibly as an insurance against the British cabinet suffering a bout of collective insanity, the EU plan to release tomorrow more details of how continental companies and citizens should prepare for no deal and you can be sure it will be clearer and more practical than anything the cabinet will come out with.
The Telegraph HERE claims the government has received legal advice that extending Article 50 means that a second referendum is ruled out although it's behind a paywall and I've run out of free articles this week so I can't see the detailed argument. I rather doubt it's true.
If Theresa May is hoping to run out of time and force parliament to accept her deal simply because there is no alternative, she may be disappointed. The House was full of anger yesterday and I didn't detect any mood that a majority would reluctantly accept her deal. I just don't think it is going to get through.
If time runs out and parliament is forced to choose between no deal and no Brexit, it will be no Brexit for sure. Maybe this was always the plan?
