UK Prime Minister Theresa May survived a vote of no confidence (VONC) with her parliamentary party in December over her proposed Brexit deal with the EU. In the same week she postponed the crucial parliamentary vote on her Brexit deal to January 2019 too much consternation from both sides of the house and political pundits. The price demanded to support her was a stay of execution as party leader as it was announced that she would stand down before the next general election.
However it has allowed her a year before facing any other VONC and enough time to re-approach the EU negotiators over critical issues such as the UK-Ireland Border back-stop position, immigration and the customs union participation. The EU is reluctant to allow for any changes to the deal. It is also enough time to ask for an extension to the leaving date of 29th March 2019 for 6 months at least and organise another referendum.
Indeed as the European Court of Justice clarified and as many vocal remain voters would like a letter revoking Article 50 to leave the EU can be sent to the European Commission and a return to the UK’s existing position within the EU membership and to forget about Brexit is a legal option.
Naturally Brexiteers like Nigel Farage and Jacob Rees-Mogg plus perhaps some of the 17.4 million leave voters would be outraged at such a development however in these febrile political times it’s a legal possibility. Time will tell and relatively quickly too but it may just create a cycle of what former UK PM Tony Blair once described as never-endums over such emotive identity issues.
What if anything is clear is how the Conservatives are utterly divided over the EU-Brexit issue closely followed by the Labour opposition too. This may well lead to the formation in time of new political identities and parties as people in the middle co-operate against those on extreme sides of the Brexit debate. Any reversal of the 2016 decision to leave the EU may well cause the predicted political protests occurring in the months to come. It may also prevent a huge economic recession and upheaval for businesses and travellers alike- again time ever tells.
More importantly however would be the issue of what kind of post non-Brexit democracy the UK finds itself becoming in the years that would follow a reversal. The political divisions sown in the Brexit debacle shall prove hard to heal-whether new political parties emerge or not- but a reconfiguration of the UK’s democratic ideals shall be more evident.
The UK political system would still claim to be highly democratic but only if the metropolitan elites allows the majority to think so. Think big brother with a café latte and a caring smile with your best interests decided for you as institutions are shaped by professional elites with plebiscites a thing of the past and perhaps universal suffrage becoming a tiresome bore best left to those who understand the issues and don’t tired along the way.
Best to stay engaged or RIP democracy as we know it. For the record I would still vote remain in a second referendum and of course I also like café latte.
LDC