EndOfMay

[Svensson]

so Theresa May's deal is dead, third time around and the hectic scramble for April 12 or May 22 has already started. Realistically, nothing can change in such a short time and there is no Parliamentary majority for anything in parliament.

The only option is for the personnel in parliament to change so that there IS a majority for something and this means that Theresa May needs to go to the EU and ask for a 6/12 month extension, resolve parliament and resign. A new PM might have a different negotiating position with the EU so that a different type of deal may be negotiated. They should also get the signatories of the Good Friday agreement together to see if there is a different kind of agreement that can be worked out. It is over 20 years old and may need review anyways.

The only problem with all of this is that a total and utter clown (Gove, Johnson, Grayling) may become the new PM and then we are just as stuffed as we are now.

[Robert]

I doubt if this is the end of May. She is an unflushable turd.

[George Dixon]

I doubt if this is the end of May. She is an unflushable turd.

Harsh, but perhaps true. Let me say that I am not a fan of May, far from it.

However, I do not see how a new PM, or come to that, a new government would alter the status quo. The Members are the ones who are actually in the driving seat now. A case of the tail wagging the dog.

[Svensson]

a new government could come with a new approach by actually asking parliament what it would support. They could use this to go back to the EU and say "this is what we want" and the EU would know that this negotiating position actually has a mandate which could be delivered.

The problem with May was that she took it on herself what the negotiating position should be. She drew up her red lines and combined with the reality of the Good Friday agreement, painted herself into a corner.

[Tonylondon]

Yes I agree May handled the whole thing terribly. Nearly 3 years this has been going on when the first thing to do was get a consensus on a plan that could have been put to the EU. Without doubt the worst set of MPs in my life time and I was a child of the 1960s!!

[Stacker]

The only way this situation can be resolved is through either a snap election or a 2nd referendum.

[Robert]

So let's suppose, for instance (just one example) that you have a second referendum and the majority vote to leave with no deal by (insert date). And let's supppse that a majority of MPs are elected on a manifesto of leaving with no deal by (insert same date). The MPs then refuse to implement the result of the general election and the second referendum.

What you gonna do?

[seanr]

It's not the end of May yet. The noises coming from Downing Street seem to be that there will be a fourth vote on the deal. Only then, if that fails May will call General Election.

The way I see a General Election playing out, the new party Change UK split the left-wing vote reducing the number of opposition MPs. Meaning a Conservative party, still led by Theresa May (she will only stand down when her deal is passed) and running on a manifesto commitment to implement May's deal, win a landslide or at the very least a majority. Then we will all get Theresa May's deal by default any way, all thanks to the first past the post electoral system.

[Robert]

I don't see why she'd call an election at all. She's quite happy going to church and doing nothing.

[PaulB]

So let's suppose, for instance (just one example) that you have a second referendum and the majority vote to leave with no deal by (insert date). And let's supppse that a majority of MPs are elected on a manifesto of leaving with no deal by (insert same date). The MPs then refuse to implement the result of the general election and the second referendum.

What you gonna do?

Call Ghostbusters.

[Ginger]

She had a heaven-sent opportunity to wreck the Fourth Reich, and squandered it. What she ought to have done, IMHO, was to declare what a blessing upon the world the EU is, and how much Britain wants the EU to survive and thrive into The Future so that Britain can remain an integral part of it, and in pursuit of that important goal needs to slightly alter its relationship to the EU to guarantee that nothing will change. Then announce that henceforward, Britain, as the special case of an island, will resume control of her own borders, so that Britain's needs don't impose upon the EU's border control scheme in general. Also that Britain, <del>being culturally superior to you dubious continental sorts,</del> possessing a nonstandard cultural perspective, will henceforward decide for herself which of the EU's laws apply in Britain, so as not to cause dissension among the EU's parliament by trying to accomodate British views. Then sit back and watch the fun.

The real irony in that is that it would probably end with a much more useful and stable devolved union.