On the Record | Bumpy Ride Lies Ahead for Brexit

Please see my latest wire as Brexit diarist for The New York Sun, ‘Bumpy Ride Lies Ahead for Brexit’:

As Westminster politicians prepare to resume their Brexit deliberations next week following the summer recess, one can only quote the inimitable Bette Davis: “Fasten your seat belts; it’s going to be a bumpy night.” Only in the case of Brexit, many more bumpy days and nights before October 31 and Britain’s exit from the European Union becomes finalized.

Britons and the world witnessed an amazing about-face once Theresa May left office and Boris Johnson assumed the mantle of Prime Minister. Brexit was no longer treated as an embarrassment and a regret. Brexit became an opportunity, a chance for a British renaissance.

No wonder. Boris, after all, claimed that the 2016 referendum to regain Britain’s sovereignty was in reality its own “Independence Day.” He is, to all those in thrall to the EU, their worst nightmare. Gone is Mrs. May’s supplication to Brussels officialdom and her intransigence to Britons’ desire for self-government.

Britain’s indefatigable paladin is now “in the house” — 10 Downing Street.

Boris’s vow to bring Britain out of the EU on October 31, “do or die,” deal or no deal, was the ultimate insult to EU votaries whose outsized self-assurance can brook no resistance. Certainly not from a mere Prime Minister — nor to the people’s cause of self-government whose champion Mr. Johnson became.

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Remarks are welcome on DMI’s Facebook page.

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My thanks to editor Seth Lipsky of The New York Sun.

On the Record | Can BoJo’s Mojo Carry Brexit Forward?

Please see my latest wire for The American Spectator, ‘Can BoJo’s Mojo Carry Brexit Forward?’:

At last! Brexiteers may be forgiven the renewed spring in their step. When Boris Johnson climbs to the top of Disraeli’s “greasy pole” this week — leader of the Conservative Party Tuesday; Wednesday, prime minister — he will achieve the pinnacle of any British politician’s career. With courage and fortitude, the next premier will reciprocate for his country: Taking the United Kingdom out of the European Union.

President Trump characteristically took to Twitter to “congratulate” Mr. Johnson as the incoming “Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.” The President tweeted about Britain’s Donald Trump: “He will be great!”

It tempts fate to quote William Wordsworth in anticipation of Britain’s independence from Brussels. “Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive,” the poet enthused. “But to be young was very heaven!”

This is especially apt because Wordsworth wrote his paean in praise of the French Revolution. History records that sad tale of murder, plunder, conquest, and ruination.

Happily, Brexit is the counter-movement to what the European Union has spawned. Its aims include restoring to Britons political rights outsourced to the Continent. Border security. Regulatory responsibility. Trade flexibility. Self-government.

Parliament will be the beneficiary of sovereignty regained. Moreover, if the Brexit dream is to be fulfilled, its promise must spread farther than the debating chambers of Westminster.

For British independence means nothing if it does not include the bulwark of the United Kingdom, the people themselves. More personal freedom, less government action — which means lower taxes, reduced spending, further decentralization, and, ultimately, more power for individuals to innovate and trade and associate.

“Liberty is not a means to a higher political end,” Lord Acton wrote. “It is itself the highest political end.” At the moment, Brexit is the thing without which all other aspects of British freedom are held at bay. Thus, Brexit first.

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My thanks to editor Wlady Pleszczynski of The American Spectator.

On the Record | Just How Bullish Is BoJo, Really, on ‘No Deal’ Brexit?

Please see my latest wire as Brexit diarist for The New York Sun, ‘Just How Bullish Is BoJo, Really, on “No Deal” Brexit?’:

With little more than two weeks before Britons are presented with a new Conservative party leader and, ipso facto — with the Queen’s consent — prime minister, parliamentarians in thrall to the European Union are becoming desperate in their attempts to stymie their own country’s independence.

Their latest gambit is a veiled threat to paralyse the new premier’s agenda, if Britain’s “re-opened” negotiations with Brussels come to nought and a “no deal” Brexit becomes official Government policy.

These solons are seemingly oblivious that, regardless of who takes up residence in Downing Street, the UK leaving the EU, with or without a deal, is the default position by dint of law, legislation having been passed with clear majorities in Parliament to leave, no “ifs,” “ands,” or “buts.”

This obliviousness has legs only because the outgoing Prime Minister, Theresa May, wheedled extensions to the original March 29 deadline. Not surprisingly, these recalcitrant Remainers reside on the Government benches, too: “conscientious” Conservatives all.

The UK’s supineness to the EU has nigh scuppered the electoral future of the Tory party. Its officials have put the interests of European comity before the British people, time and again. Even now, at the eleventh hour, it’s difficult to discern the extent of sincerity in respect of Brexit.

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My thanks to editor Seth Lipsky of The New York Sun.

On the Record | Boris Beware: Only Brexit Is Indispensable

Please see my latest wire as Brexit diarist for The New York Sun, ‘Boris Beware: Only Brexit Is Indispensable’:

Brexit is no equal to Paradise. I raise the point only to counter Victorian poet Robert Browning, who opined that “a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?” That is to say, Brexit should be within the grasp of Britons who asked for independence from the European Union. It is not too much to ask.

Yet more than three years since the historic vote, Britain is still a member of the EU. Having failed to meet the deadline of March 29, Brexiteers are understandably underwhelmed they will actually achieve independence by the new one, October 31.

Surely, after finally cashiering the “Remainer” prime minister, Theresa May, and with two Tory leadership contenders vowing to exit on the prescribed date, “do or die,” Brexiteers can rest on their oars? Would were it so simple.

Truth is, neither candidate, Boris Johnson nor Jeremy Hunt, can be wholly trusted on the Brexit file. Not to impugn the probity of either man. Rather, that political exigencies — the hope of holding out for more favorable terms, fear of a general election, a Jeremy Corbyn “socialist” government, or Project Fear’s “economic collapse” propaganda — may induce them to waffle on Brexit’s end of October deadline or its “independence” agenda.

Breitbart columnist James Delingpole voices the collective concern over the leading protagonist.

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My thanks to editor Seth Lipsky of The New York Sun.

On the Record | Happy Brexit Day, Despite the Wait

Please see my latest wire as Brexit diarist for The New York Sun, ‘Happy Brexit Day, Despite the Wait’:

Your Diarist would be amiss were he not to wish, all and sundry, a happy “Independence Day.”

Doubtless you think either I’m having an “episode” or it’s already the Fourth of July (after the speediest fortnight in history). Well, I can assure you that we’re still in the last quarter of June.

No, I bring glad tidings on the third anniversary of Britain’s 2016 referendum vote to exit the European Union. Huzzah! If Britain and America are divided by a common language, how does one say “Yankee Doodle Dandy” in London?

The historic occasion sneaks upon even the most earnest Brexiteer almost as an afterthought. That speaks to what supporters of Britain’s independence have endured, for the past 36 months, from the machinations of the European Union.

Boris Johnson, now a leading contender to become the next Conservative leader and British prime minister, coined the “Independence Day” Brexit shorthand during the lead-up to the referendum, in which he made a huge contribution.

Until he stepped into the van, the pro-independence faction was largely about the faults of membership in the EU — the costs, the interference, the open border. It was Mr. Johnson who focused on the “sunny uplands” of liberty.

Yuuuge, as Mr. Trump might say.

At the time, it is easy to see how idealists would identify with the Second Continental Congress and the 56 delegates sweltering in the Philadelphian heat that July 1776.

The Founders were debating the merits of Richard Henry Lee’s Virginia resolution, that these thirteen “United Colonies” declare themselves “free and independent states . . . absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown,” with “all political connection . . . totally dissolved.”

Two and a half centuries later and with the shoes on different feet, the ensuing realities disclose that the Brexit euphoria was premature.

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Remarks are welcome on DMI’s Facebook page.

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My thanks to editor Seth Lipsky of The New York Sun.

On the Record | Brexit: How to Prove Rousseau Wrong

Please see my latest wire as Brexit diarist for The New York Sun, ‘Brexit: How to Prove Rousseau Wrong’:

Boris Johnson vs. Jeremy Hunt. Conservative MPs have whittled the list of contenders down to two colleagues, who will now canvas the party membership for support. The prize? To be leader of the Tories and British prime minister. Achieving both is still worth the effort. “Just.” Achieving Brexit adds ineffable lustre to each office; without Brexit, each is little more than a pale reflection of past glory.

Heady days indeed for Tory Brexiteers. Not only have they finally rid themselves of failed premier Theresa May — it lies within their power to anoint a paladin for British independence. Though neither candidate is wholly free of Brexit heresy.

Mr. Johnson lapsed when he feared it was either Mrs. May’s imperfect Withdrawal Agreement or nothing. Mr. Hunt began as a “Remainer” before converting to faith in Britain’s future outside the European Union, while never abandoning his backing for the suspect Withdrawal plan.

Tories should be grateful for the opportunity to be “wooed” for their vote. They serve as proxies for the nation-at-large. Even if Boris is the clear favorite, he should earn their trust for the honor of taking up residence at 10 Downing Street. Don’t hand it to either contender on a silver platter.

Recollect what Jean-Jacques Rousseau said 2½ centuries ago. “The English people believes itself to be free,” the Genevan philosopher observed in The Social Contract. He felt this a grave mistake. They are “free only during the election of Members of Parliament.” Once elected, Britons are “enslaved” once more and are “nothing.”

Don’t waste this chance to push hard for UK independence from the EU. Brexit fidelity is the sine qua non of British politics for the foreseeable future.

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Remarks are welcome on DMI’s Facebook page.

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My thanks to editor Seth Lipsky of The New York Sun.

On the Record | Is BoJo the Man for Brexit?

Please see my latest wire as Brexit diarist for The New York Sun, ‘Is BoJo the Man for Brexit?’:

Barring phenomenal bad luck on his part, Boris Johnson is the Conservative MP most likely to succeed as party leader and British prime minister. He is the favorite MP of declared parliamentary colleagues who will choose two leadership candidates to put before the membership. And among Conservative rank-and-file, BoJo is far and away their favorite Tory in Parliament.

A few short months ago, most Brexiteers would swoon at the prospect. During the 2016 referendum, BoJo was the most colorful proponent for British independence from the European Union. When “Remain” premier David Cameron resigned after the decisive vote to leave, expectations were dashed when Mr. Johnson decided not to “climb the greasy pole” to the top job.

Instead, Britain got Theresa May and the rest is a sad litany of Brexit betrayal, mendacious mandarins, and pitiful parliamentary posturing. Now it is Mrs. May’s time to leave 10 Downing street. Mr. Johnson will not let it pass him by again. As Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen puts it, “The only person who could stop Boris would be Boris.”

Therein lies the rub. Is Mr. Johnson the leader to make Britain’s independence from the European Union a reality, fulfilling the long-term promise of Brexit?

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Remarks are welcome on DMI’s Facebook page.

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My thanks to editor Seth Lipsky of The New York Sun.

On the Record | ‘Help Wanted’: A Leader to Win Brexit

Please see my latest wire as Brexit diarist for The New York Sun, ‘ “Help Wanted”: A Leader to Win Brexit’:

Pity the Conservative members of Parliament. This month their party was decimated at local and European elections. Now Prime Minister May announces her intention to resign in early June. Tory MPs will soon be leaderless. The awesome responsibility falls to them (and party members) to choose not only a new head but premier — and while Britain’s independence hangs in the balance.

Harried Tories have little time to reflect on the necessary qualifications for such high office. They are swept up in continuing contumely, from politicians and people alike — including their Conservative colleagues. What’s a troubled Tory to do? I am reminded of the Committee for the Responsible Election of the Pope that, in August 1978 at the death of Paul VI, issued a press release in aid of cardinals about to elect the next pontiff.

To begin, Brexit has to be the next leader’s priority. There’s no shirking. Any candidate who downplays the importance of British independence from the EU doesn’t deserve to reach the starting gate.

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Remarks are welcome on DMI’s Facebook page.

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My thanks to editor Seth Lipsky of The New York Sun.

On the Record | With May Leaving, the Hard Part of Brexit Begins

Please see my latest wire as Brexit diarist for The New York Sun, ‘With May Leaving, the Hard Part of Brexit Begins’:

Can Brexiteers take any comfort in what is to date their sole consolation prize? In lieu of reveling in two months of freedom from the European Union, champions of British independence have to settle, for now, with news of the Prime Minister’s pending departure.

Theresa May’s announcement Friday came in all too true fashion, postponing her widely sought resignation from the Conservative leadership until June 7. She will remain premier until a successor is chosen, no later than the end of July.

Nothing so embodies Mrs. May’s premiership as her leaving of it — grudging, acrimonious, and interminable. Not to mention vainglorious, pompous, and disingenuous. Nevertheless, Britons can take satisfaction that she will soon be gone.

Just don’t uncork the champagne. Brexiteers have yet to secure Brexit. They’ve simply cashiered one known antagonist for many unknown aspirants to power, each awaiting his chance to climb what Disraeli dubbed the “greasy pole.”

This is, however, an opportunity for the Conservative party to begin redeeming itself. With Nigel Farage’s Brexit party polling at 37% and Tories languishing at 7%, Britain’s natural party of government has much for which to atone.

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Remarks are welcome on DMI’s Facebook page.

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My thanks to editor Seth Lipsky of The New York Sun.

On the Record | Will Trump Summit with Nigel Farage?

Please see my latest wire as Brexit diarist for The New York Sun, ‘Will Trump Summit with Nigel Farage?’:

How do you say “carpe diem” with a pint in one hand and a cigarette in the other? No one doubts that Nigel Farage and his Brexit party have seized the day. As Britons cast ballots for a European parliament they voted in the 2016 referendum to leave, Mr. Farage and his cohorts brilliantly capture the public’s mood: British independence delayed but not defeated.

The latest polling indicates that the Brexit party will seize the largest share of Britain’s MEPs. YouGov reports that the Brexit party, active for a mere six weeks, stands at 37%. Labor is a distant 13%, while Conservatives languish dismally at 7%.

Breaking down those numbers, Breitbart London, which has done a terrific job on this story, shows that of electors who voted Conservative in the 2017 general election, 65% are now supporting Farage’s Brexit party (only 16% remain loyal to the Tories).

As for the next national election — by law, to be held no later than May 2022 — the Brexit party’s prospects are prompting the mainstream to take notice. YouGov polling shows both Conservatives and Labor with 25% support, with a “virtual” Brexit group (no Westminster designation yet exists) at 18%.

With these numbers, it is easy to see why Crispin Blunt and other Brexiteer Tories see future collaboration with Nigel Farage as essential to delivering Brexit. Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg agrees. He is keen on forming a coalition in aid of independence. In the long-term, Mr. Rees-Mogg wants to reinvigorate conservative principles.

British sovereignty, limited government, fiscal prudence, and personal responsibility — all, incidentally, are comprised in the core of the Brexit promise.

Meanwhile, with Mr. Farage and the Brexit party commanding the headlines, other political “breaking” developments are no more than endnotes to the main event.

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Remarks are welcome on DMI’s Facebook page.

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My thanks to editor Seth Lipsky of The New York Sun.

On the Record | Could Brexit Party Join with Tories to Save Britain?

Please see my latest wire as Brexit diarist for The New York Sun, ‘Could Brexit Party Join with Tories to Save Britain?’:

Have UK Conservatives lost their noggins along with their wills? That Theresa May continues as the head of her party (it is fatuous to say she “leads” it) with Brexit hanging perilously in the balance, is singular proof that Tories lack for will-power.

To remain on this path to destruction — of their country, possibly; of their party, certainly — suggests they have lost contact with reason, too.

Perhaps all is not lost. Tory MP Crispin Blunt, for one, admits the inexorable: “We are going to have to come to an accommodation with the Brexit Party.”

Mr. Blunt gives voice to the blatantly obvious, but is no less brave for stating, to his colleagues, unpalatable truth. “The Conservatives as a Brexit party, being very clear about their objectives are almost certainly going to have to go into some kind of electoral arrangement with the Brexit Party.”

To wit: “Otherwise Brexit doesn’t happen.”

In a recent wire, your diarist broached the likelihood of union of the Conservative and Brexit parties. It would be no mean feat to accomplish.

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Remarks are welcome on DMI’s Facebook page.

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My thanks to editor Seth Lipsky of The New York Sun.

On the Record | UK Voters Exact Retribution for Dodging Brexit

Please see my latest wire as Brexit diarist for The New York Sun, ‘UK Voters Exact Retribution for Dodging Brexit’:

Brexit delayed is Brexit denied. Such logic fueled local elections in Britain, as voters exacted retribution for politicians’ refusal to discharge the people’s desire to exit the European Union and redeem UK independence. Hundreds of ballot papers were spoiled as variations of one word, embodying Britons’ one true choice, were scrawled across them. “Brexit.”

After the worst showing for Tories since John Major’s premiership — 1,334 seats lost and control of 44 English councils — Breitbart London reports that senior Tories have told Prime Minister May “to set a departure date next week.”

If she refuses, Conservatives’ backbench organization, the 1922 Committee, “could decide to change party rules to allow another no-confidence vote this year.” (A similar vote in December failed and, according to current party rules, 12 months must pass before holding another leadership challenge.)

Last month the Committee decided to force Mrs. May’s hand, discussing new rules to cut the moratorium in half and holding a new vote on June 12 (six months after the last contest) but backed off, not wanting to “rock the boat” so close to local and European Parliament elections.

How did that brilliant foresight work for Tories? Further delays only exemplify their unfitness for political office and the people’s trust.

I’m shocked that voters punished Conservatives for their continuing Brexit fiasco. Council members are not offending parliamentarians. Yet they suffer (with apologies to Shakespeare) as Cinna the poet did when mistaken for Cinna the conspirator in “Julius Caesar” — “It is no matter. Their names are Conservative. Vote them out.”

Forgive your diarist for a touch of pique, but this is news to whom?

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My thanks to editor Seth Lipsky of The New York Sun.

On the Record | New Party Rises in Britain to Rescue Brexit

Please see my latest wire as Brexit diarist for The New York Sun, ‘New Party Rises in Britain to Rescue Brexit’:

The British Prime Minister is a wrecking crew of one. Theresa May scuttled Britain’s March 29 exit from the European Union. Her preferred withdrawal option places the UK in a worse position in relation to the EU. Not content to wreak havoc in foreign relations, she is effectively destroying the Conservative party.

This is a moment to harken to Newton’s third law — “to every action there is always opposed an equal reaction.” It’s starting to look as if the third law applies in politics too, and is now in full force in Britain. Mrs. May has midwifed the Brexit party.

With Nigel Farage at its head, the Brexit party was formed when Britain failed to exit the EU as Britons — and Parliament — ordained. In a few short weeks it will contest the European Parliament elections and fight a polite but firm guerrilla campaign for Brexit in Brussels. Tories’ truculence at home augurs that Mr. Farage must take the fight to Westminster as well.

“We want the European election to be the first step of a massive change that re-steps entirely British politics and actually makes it look more like the country,” Mr. Farage told the London Sun. “MPs will realize that if they carry on trying to stop Brexit, they’ll lose their seats at the next General Election.”

The Brexit party’s leadership is hoping that current polling trends can be replicated at the national election in 2022. The most recent YouGov poll on MEP voting intentions has it leading with 28%, Labor at 22%, and the Tories far in the rear (with less than half Brexit party support) at 13%.

Conservative party brass shudder at the idea.

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Remarks are welcome on DMI’s Facebook page.

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My thanks to editor Seth Lipsky of The New York Sun.

On the Record | Cry ‘God for Brexit, England, and Saint George!’

Please see my latest wire as Brexit diarist for The New York Sun, ‘Tory Rank, File Taking Brexit to the Polls’:

I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,

Straining upon the start. The game’s afoot.

Follow your spirit, and upon this charge

Cry ‘God for Brexit, England, and Saint George!’

Apologies from your diarist for altering Shakespeare’s immortal cheer. Are any willing to call me on it? Certainly not Theresa May. The Prime Minister is no stickler for the literal truth, having twice “postponed” Britain’s March 29 exit from the European Union. It’s a worthy reflection this St. George’s Day. Instead of dragons, however, watch for the foes of Britain’s independence.

Oh, they are legion. The worst such foes of freedom are those in Parliament, where they comprise some three-quarters of Westminster. MPs “stooped” and promised to abide by the 2016 EU referendum on whether to remain or leave. A majority of Britons voted to leave. MPs merely bided their time. That’s gratitude for you.

Again, in the 2017 snap election, both Conservative and Labor parties made manifesto commitments to uphold the people’s choice. Subsequent events proved their words hollow. Mrs. May’s passivity in the face of Brussels negotiators, agreeing to their timetable, concessions, and demand for financial compensation, gave the lie to her mantra that “Brexit means Brexit.”

Benjamin Disraeli had the measure of politicians’ mettle. While he showered praise upon Britain’s parliamentary system of government, he entertained no illusions about those who wielded power. “There is no act of treachery or meanness of which a political party is not capable,” Dizzy wrote with characteristic clarity, “for in politics there is no honor.”

With Brexit bravery in short supply in Parliament, who will prove the people’s paladin?

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My thanks to editor Seth Lipsky of The New York Sun.

On the Record | Primrose Lane: How Disraeli Would See Brexit

Please see my latest wire as Brexit diarist for The New York Sun, ‘Primrose Lane: How Disraeli Would See Brexit’:

What would Disraeli do about Brexit? An apt question this Primrose Day weekend — an occasion to commemorate Benjamin Disraeli’s death in 1881 and promote his beloved Conservative party.

Lord Randolph Churchill, Winston’s father, was a principal founder of the Primrose League, formed to take advantage of Disraeli’s 1867 reform act that enlarged the voting franchise to growing numbers of the working and middle classes.

The League would educate and build on this new-found “Tory democracy” and, to echo Disraeli, “dish the Whigs.” As for its unique name, the League was named for the plant. Queen Victoria sent a wreath of its blossoms to Disraeli’s funeral with a note saying that the primrose was his “favorite flower.”

How would Disraeli feel about Brexit? It is well to remember Lord Brougham’s caution. “No one can pronounce with perfect confidence on the conduct which any statesman would have pursued,” he wrote, “had he survived the times in which he flourished.”

On Brexit, however, we can pronounce without hesitation Disraeli’s support. The ground of his political principle lay on the bedrock from which Brexit was born. For Disraeli, Britain and her independence were paramount: “The program of the Conservative party is to maintain the Constitution of the country.”

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My thanks to editor Seth Lipsky of The New York Sun.

On the Record | Britain Verges on Defeat over Brexit

Please see my latest wire as Brexit diarist for The New York Sun, ‘Britain Verges on Defeat over Brexit’:

Mark your calendars for April 12. For the clock is reset on that date for Britain regaining independence. Reaching that date, with Brexit unhampered and unsullied, is the new goal. Nothing stands between Britons and freedom but the political class on either side of the English Channel. Yet with another series of votes tonight, parliamentarians seem determined to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Too bad British MPs forgot their Aristotle. He counseled that some political acts “are so called as being evil in themselves.” Politicians cannot “save” Brexit by sacrificing British liberties a bit here and a bit there. “It is not excess or deficiency of them that is evil,” Aristotle cautioned. “It is impossible to act rightly; one is always wrong.”

Brexiteers who buckled last week to support Prime Minister Theresa May’s flawed Withdrawal Agreement, citing the “lesser evil” argument, don’t get a pass from Aristotle, either. To wit: “Nor does acting rightly or wrongly in such cases depend upon circumstances.”

Thus surveying the available candidates to usher Brexit to victory and finding the field wanting in my last wire, I quoted the Psalmist, “Put not your trust in princes.” I add now the verse’s concluding lines. “. . . Nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.”

My point is simple. One should never endorse, carte blanche, any political program just because people voted for it. Scepticism and due diligence are always in order. Brexit is the right thing to do not because the majority of Britons voting in the 2016 referendum — 17.4 million — decided to exit the European Union. Brexit is the right thing to do because its principles are laid upon the foundations of justice.

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Remarks are welcome on DMI’s Facebook page.

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My thanks to editor Seth Lipsky of The New York Sun.

On the Record | Could Brexit Yet Rise Like a Phoenix?

Please see my latest wire as Brexit diarist for The New York Sun, ‘Could Brexit Yet Rise Like a Phoenix?’:

Is Brexit a phoenix in disguise? Imitating that fabled bird, Brexit went down in flames at Brussels last week. Britain’s true independence from the European Union, however, may yet be resurrected from the ashes. Has Brexit, phoenix-like, acquired new life?

In a desperate bid to save her Withdrawal Agreement, Prime Minister Theresa May met her parliamentary party Wednesday and, in exchange for their support, promised to resign. The idea would be to allow new leadership to take charge of the trade deal portion of Britain’s two-step exit from the EU.

Mrs. May’s sacrifice of power for her preferred deal gathered strength, in a relative way, when, during “indicative votes” in the Commons later that day, none of the alternatives gained a majority.

No. 10 interprets this as a sign that the continuing stalemate may work to the Government’s benefit. Rumors circulate that Mrs. May’s personal agreement with her party has had the contrary effect, souring opposition MPs who had been prepared to vote in favor to get Brexit behind them. (Why discussions among members of the governing party are now deemed “extra-parliamentary” is bewildering.)

Meanwhile, other MPs, are seeing the EU extension as an opportunity to bargain for better terms. They had previously voted for Mrs. May’s deal and are said to be rethinking their voting strategy.

In a developing twist, Mrs. May will bring only part of her Withdrawal Agreement to the Commons for a vote — the “divorce” component, not the political statement of the UK-EU relationship.

As details emerge, the Government must get legislation passed by the “old” Brexit date (today) if Britain is to leave the EU by the new May 22 deadline. Are mandarins devising rules on the fly, to bedevil an amical exit?

If the latest Government bill is defeated, leaving April 12 with no deal — “WTO Brexit” — comes to the fore once more, barring another Article 50 extension. Our Brexit saga whets the appetite again. Nil desperandum.

Read more . . .

Remarks are welcome on DMI’s Facebook page.

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My thanks to editor Seth Lipsky of The New York Sun.

On the Record | Brexit or Bust: Time for Britain to Ask its People

Please see my latest wire as Brexit diarist for The New York Sun, ‘Brexit or Bust: Time for Britain to Ask its People’:

Cancel the celebrations. Prime Minister Theresa May confirmed that Friday, March 29 will not be Brexit day. Come Monday, April 1, the United Kingdom will still be in the European Union. April Fools’ Day, indeed.

These sad tidings were announced as Mrs. May briefed the Commons on Monday about her latest Brussels meetings. The upshot for Brexit is this, she said: “The date for our departure from the EU has now changed in international law.”

If Parliament buckles and accedes to her Withdrawal Agreement, “Brexit” occurs May 22 — just ahead of elections for the European Parliament. If not, then April 12 — permitting further UK-EU consultations.

So contrary was this to Government policy — that Britain would exit the EU as established by a referendum, two Acts of Parliament, and national election — that Sir John Redwood needed confirmation. “What would the Prime Minister say to a leave voter who wants us to leave on 29 March?” he asked.

“We have requested the extension to Article 50, so the 29 March date is no longer there,” replied the Prime Minister.

Crispin Blunt was unsparing in his vitriol. “Does the Prime Minister understand that, by taking no deal off the table at the behest of this Remainer Parliament, she has just put the final torpedo into her own deal and any real prospect of Brexit,” he asked icily, “and that her statement will represent the most shameful surrender by a British leader since Singapore in 1942?”

Is Britain’s independence from the EU super-state — for which the people voted and were promised by their elected representatives — well and truly dead?

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As an aside, though I continue to have confidence that the 2016 referendum remains valid, as much as I believe that a general election at this time is fraught with danger, my overwhelming feeling is that at this crucial period in determining Britain’s future as a self-governing sovereign nation — on the cusp of self-inflicted humiliation, aided and abetted by European Union mandarins — it is time to cross the Rubicon. Iacta alea est. ‘Brexit or Bust.’

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My thanks to editor Seth Lipsky of The New York Sun.

On the Record | Brexit, Beware Ides of March Portend Trouble

Please see my latest wire as Brexit diarist for The New York Sun, ‘Brexit, Beware Ides of March Portend Trouble’:

“Infamy, infamy, they’ve all got it in for me.” Fans of British comedy will recognize the cry from Kenneth Williams’s portrayal of Julius Caesar. Brexiteers take the sentiment personally, too — especially on this “Ides of March.” Britain’s political class has it in for British independence.

Brexit had a dismal week. First, the Prime Minister’s withdrawal plan endured its second defeat on Tuesday. Efforts were earnestly made to convince MPs that attempts to address the Irish border issue did not trap Britain in the EU customs union, but failed on the merits.

“No deal” Brexit went down the following day. This is particularly galling to purist Brexiteers, who see future trade agreements with Europe based on WTO guidelines as Britain’s only way to achieve true freedom. The Wall Street Journal, initially opposed to Brexit, acknowledged this week that a no-deal exit “may be the best outcome now.”

Brexit’s “unkindest cut of all” came Thursday, when parliamentarians voted to ask the EU for an Article 50 extension. If granted, the March 29 deadline is shattered. Independence may be fatally compromised.

Can Brexit be saved? Caesar’s augurer has as much chance of foreseeing the future of British independence as any political prognosticator. Let’s examine the entrails of this week for clues.

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Remarks are welcome on DMI’s Facebook page.

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My thanks to editor Seth Lipsky of The New York Sun.

On the Record | Marxist Specter May Unnerve Tories on Brexit

Please see my latest wire as Brexit diarist for The New York Sun, ‘Marxist Specter May Unnerve Tories on Brexit ’:

Brexit Triumphant or Brexit Bust? With little more than two weeks before the March 29 deadline, many factors are still in flux. Pending votes in Parliament this week will give direction to the final outcome. Prime Minister May’s “Strasbourg stitch-up” only distracts from a deal that cedes too much to the European Union while continuing to frustrate full British independence.

Mrs. May joined EU officials late Monday for eleventh-hour negotiations to save her withdrawal agreement. She emerged little over an hour later with European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, to announce “legally binding” changes that putatively take the sting out of the Irish backstop.

“Now is the time to come together, to back this improved Brexit deal, and to deliver on the instruction of the British people,” she said.

Succeed or fail, Mrs. May will bring her “improved” exit proposal to Parliament on Tuesday for another vote. Her first attempt in January, it will be remembered, failed by an astonishing 230-vote margin. MPs feared the Irish backstop left the UK under EU customs oversight, minus a legal mechanism to get out.

If history repeats itself and the agreement goes down to defeat again, on Wednesday the House of Commons will test its will on a “no deal” Brexit.

If this too fails, Thursday’s vote will ask Parliament to petition the EU for an extension of Article 50. If successful, and Brussels accedes — under doubtless punishing terms — the dreams of Brexit will be fairly vanquished.

Read more . . .

Remarks are welcome on DMI’s Facebook page.

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My thanks to editor Seth Lipsky of The New York Sun.