Opinion

Theresa May’s Brexit proposals please no one, which is why her resignation is next

Theresa May is officially stuck between a rock and a hard place.

With one of the most divisive issues in a generation on the table she has somehow managed to make compromises on both sides and yet end up pleasing no one.

Treasury PPS Scott Mann and Witney MP Robert Courts are the latest Brexiters to walk out on the back of the controversial Chequers deal.

They join the Brexit Secretary, Foreign Secretary and five others on a list that is by no means complete.

But resignations may be the least of Theresa May’s worries if the next 48 hours are anything to go by, with Eurosceptic MPs threatening a show of strength by voting for wrecking amendments to legislation crucial to her Brexit plans.

With a slim majority it seems May could be left powerless to defend her proposals, despite sending warnings this week that we risk ending up with no Brexit at all if ministers don’t get on side.

It is an eventuality that wouldn’t displease certain factions of her party and indeed the electorate with resentment towards Brexit clearly growing as the deadline looms.

Justine Greening today called for a second referendum on Brexit, saying the final decision should be given back to the people and out of “deadlocked politicians” hands.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, she said the government’s Chequers proposals were a “genuine clever attempt at a compromise that could work” but “suits no-one”.

In her words, “the reality is Parliament is now stalemated. Whatever the proposal on the table, there will be MPs who vote it down. But Britain needs to find a route forward.”

Jack Peat

Jack is a business and economics journalist and the founder of The London Economic (TLE). He has contributed articles to VICE, Huffington Post and Independent and is a published author. Jack read History at the University of Wales, Bangor and has a Masters in Journalism from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Published by