Into the Brexit endgame
How Parliament should weigh up the Brexit deal
AT LAST, BRITAIN’S game of three-dimensional chess with the European Union is entering its closing phase. On November 14th the two parties published a draft divorce agreement, 585 pages in length. Nearly two-and-a-half years after the British shocked their own government by voting to leave the EU, they are about to discover what Brexit really means.
The game is by no means over. The deal still has to be agreed by the EU and, harder still, by the British Parliament. Several ministers, including the Brexit secretary, resigned in protest; Theresa May could yet be toppled. MPs must grapple with multiple loyalties: to their constituents, their parties and their own beliefs, all of which are likely to have shifted since the referendum. Within weeks they will have to make the biggest decision facing Britain, and one of the biggest for Europe, in generations.
This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline "Into the endgame"
From the November 17th 2018 edition
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