The Brexit Chronicles

Busy Doing Nothing...

Published on March the  26th, 2019.

We're busy doin' nothin'
Workin' the whole day through
Tryin' to find lots of things not to do
We're busy goin' nowhere
Isn't it just a crime
We'd like to be unhappy, but
We never do have the time. - Busy Doing Nothing, by Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin.

Parliament can have as many 'indicative votes' as it wants to, but they won't change a thing. These facts remain: Thanks to May's utter incompetence the Exit Date is now in the hands of the EU: They have granted the UK one extension until April the 12th in order to be seen as accommodating, but are unlikely to do so again unless the UK can come up with a way out of the bind May's failed strategy has got us into, which despite the forthcoming votes, and even the wobbling of the likes of Jacob Rees-Mogg to possibly being closer to supporting the Prime Minister, still seems a remote prospect.

Meanwhile, as described in the link below, it might be the case that even the Statutory Instrument to alter the Exit Date may not be passed, but even if that is the case, thanks to the supremacy of EU law over that of the UK the decision of parliament as to when we may leave would be overruled: What a ridiculous situation for we as a nation to have gotten ourselves into!

https://www.ft.com/content/0e1097e6-4f1f-11e9-b401-8d9ef1626294?fbclid=IwAR1voAzWkHyc0sZ2M2jjnfD94EV5w2BELhl-joCHtNCehz4gwPp0gEujn00

Beyond that, what happens next? In the next nineteen days the log jam must be broken, Or Else... The Bloc can't keep offering the UK continued Article 50 extensions or its word will cease to be taken seriously, and besides there is the matter of the forthcoming EU elections due in May to consider. It is now organisationally too late for the UK to participate in them, even if there was the will to do so. Nor can any participation be postponed, for that would break both UK and EU law, as well as providing the likes of Nigel Farage with opportunity to launch an inconvenient legal challenge on the issue; not forgetting that as part of the Brexit process, the European Parliament seats which are currently held by the UK are due to be redistributed among the remaining members after we leave.

Faced with that logistical nightmare, and seeing how poorly the UK are using the scant allocation of time they've been given the EU leaders, facing the prospect of Brexit dominating their discussions for an indefinite period into the future as well as frustrating their plans for an ever closer Union, will publicly conclude as they no doubt have already in private, that the UK is a liability to be cut loose as quickly as possible. They'll want to be seen as being helpful right up to the end in order to sidestep the storm of recriminations which is certain to follow such a messy Brexit, but that must surely be their end goal now.

This country! We can't even grasp the nettle and leave of our own accord, we have to get kicked out...

PS: It's being reported the DUP have reiterated their opposition to May's Withdrawal Agreement. Whether this is an ironclad rejection or just the opening gambit in obtaining as much as possible in return for their eventual support remains to be seen, but as the Unionists are the tail which wags the dog, it's going to be difficult for a Prime Minister lacking any authority to get by without them.