Brexit Deadlock: What Next?

I wrote about the Brexit deadlock for Impakter and here is the start of my updated article following the U.K. Parliament vote on May's "Brexit deal" she had negotiated with the EU and her surviving the no confidence vote called for by Labour Leader Corbyn:

Ten weeks to Brexit. March 29, the date of UK’s exit from the EU, is closer than ever. But right now we are living through a “Brexit deadlock”. And it shows no sign of resolving: First there was the historic contrary vote in Parliament on 15 January that rejected Prime Minister May's controversial "Brexit deal". The margin of defeat was enormous, May lost by 230 votes. Next, on 16 January, May survived the vote of no confidence Labour Leader Corbyn had called for, with a thin majority of 19 votes.

The defeat, however predictable and expected, still managed to shock many people. And EU Commission President Juncker expressed regret:

I take note with regret of the outcome of the vote in the @HouseofCommons this evening. I urge the #UK to clarify its intentions as soon as possible. Time is almost up #Brexit https://t.co/SMmps5kexn

— Jean-Claude Juncker (@JunckerEU) January 15, 2019

The EU Commission also released a formal statement on 15 January by President Juncker highlighting that the "process of ratification of the Withdrawal Agreement continues.  Because this Withdrawal Agreement (i.e. May's "Brexit deal") is:

"a fair compromise and the best possible deal. It reduces the damage caused by Brexit for citizens and businesses across Europe. It is the only way to ensure an orderly withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union."

The EU won't budge on the Irish border problem. This is it - end of the road. As EU Council President Donald Tusk was quick to note , the U.K. should cancel Brexit since no better deal can be negotiated.

The problem is a political one. As Guardian's John Henley said, "“The crux of the problem is that there is no parliamentary majority for any solution. There is no majority for May’s deal, there is no majority for no deal, there is no majority for a second referendum, and there is no majority for the various alternative deals mooted by MPs.”



The logic is to go back to the people and vote again, as suggested by Susan Wilson in her recent article on Impakter celebrating "2019: The Year We Finally Bury Brexit". That is also what the markets expected and the pound immediately rebounded.

Unfortunately, little time is left to organize a referendum. Some people argue there’s no time left at all.

Yet a no-deal Brexit was excluded by a crucial Parliament vote on 8 January that passed almost unobserved by the mainstream media. But that vote ensured, to use Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn’s expression, that the UK cannot "legally go crashing out” of the EU on 29 March 2019:

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More on Impakter, click HERE to read. Let me know what you think!