I don't think that is fair, Gavin. When Theresa May looked at the way ahead, she knew that she would be the fall guy if Brexit was not a success. So she worked out a way to both protect business and take some of the advantages of Brexit (such as an end to free movement) by way of a transitional arrangement to bridge the gap between our leaving the EU and the date by which we get a trade deal with the EU.
It has been widely acknowledged on both sides of the argument how resilient she has been, and nothing has side-tracked her despite all the noises-off both in Parliament and even from within her own party, against all the hostility she has taken from the EU. By the end of her tour of the nations, she will then have a debate in the Commons lasting days to discuss what happens next.
What she will be able to claim is:
- She would have done her absolute best to put in place a transition period that would assist business on both sides of the Channel to come to terms with the Brexit arrangements.
- She will have ensured that the country did not take an economic hit during the gap between Brexiting and securing an EU trade deal.
- She will have made sure that everyone understood, as far as it was possible for them to understand, the nature of the Withdrawal Agreement, so that nobody could say afterwards, at least with credibility, that the government did not do enough to explain the intention of that Agreement.
- Her tour of the nations and her plea to the public to make their wishes known to their MPs would have ensured that people could not say (again with credibility) that they had no opportunity to put their views forward.
So after the long debate in the Commons, MPs will vote on the Withdrawal Agreement. Everyone will understand by then what it means. If they vote it down, the Prime Minister will announce that in the absence of an agreement, Article 50 will be activated on 29 March and we wiil be out of the EU, ready to negotiate a trade deal, which will probably take up to two years in all likelihood. She will then announce the measures that will be in place to secure the speediest possible movement of goods and the arrangements in place for businesses to ensure that trade with the EU can continue relatively unimpeded, squashing yet another remoaner argument that no preparations have been done for Brexit without a deal.
Despite what others are saying about Theresa May's future prospects, I think it will be a case of game, set and match to Theresa May and a pure Brexit achieved.
Not bad for a couple of years hard grind against all the odds. Who else could have achieved this outcome?
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You are so funny, Mr K! You were trying to be funny, weren't you? This post of yours was hilarious!
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Another misunderstanding. Deliberate, I think.
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You obviously think all trade with the EU will cease if we come out of the EU with no deal. Well, that's completely wrong, and I think you know that, although I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. We will simply be trading on WTO terms until we get the trade agreement we are seeking. It is as simple as that. No need to panic, Mr Mainwaring.