Idiot's Guide to Brexit

May’s visit to Brussels on May 12 ended as expected, with EU leaders ignoring her plea for an extension to June 30 (as she knew they would), and offering her the choice between holding elections for the European Parliament on May 23, or crashing out. If the elections happen, then the UK gets an extension until October 31, and the option of leaving sooner if and when Parliament approves a deal acceptable to Brussels.   With this breather, let’s take stock of how the multi-player game of chicken has pllayed out since my first post on February 22. Simply put, every player but one has pulled to the side of the road, shut off his engine, and gone into the pub for a pint – the Hard Brexiteers, the various stripes of Soft Brexiteer, the 2nd Referendees, the Remainers, and of course May and her dwindling cabinet. Only the EU has kept its hands on the wheel and the pedal to the floor. And the reason why is that the EU needs the EU a whole lot more than the EU needs the UK, and a w...

During the last week, Parliament stopped even trying to find a majority for any version of Brexit. Theresa May announced on Tuesday that she was reaching across the aisle to try to agree a solution with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. But to noone’s surprise, it was clear following their meetings on Wednesday and Thursday that the aisle is way too wide for them to reach each other, even if both tried, which neither has. On Friday, May said she would go to Brussels on May 10 to propose that 1) the April 11 Brexit date be postponed again, to June 30;    2) Brexit could happen sooner if something close to Her Deal wins a majority vote in Parliament; and 3) the UK will not participate in the May 23 EU parliamentary elections if a Brexit deal is approved by May 22. This would remove the April 12 cliff date, giving the government and Parliament more time to muddle. But it’s obvious by now that, so long as Parliament refuses to adopt a knock-out voting procedure, the ayes will...