Time up for May and almost gone for UK

The heavy defeat of Theresa May’s latest proposals in the House of Commons continues the seemingly endless indecision in UK politics about what shape Brexit should take. The key trade-offs necessary to map a way forward have been dodged time and again. The controversy surrounding the backstop for the Irish border was a symptom of a wider problem. The UK split on Brexit when the vote was taken and, since then, the Conservative government has shown itself completely unable to map a credible way forward. It is itself now hopelessly riven.

This extraordinary lack of political leadership has now created enormous uncertainty and risk. The path to an organised and planned exit based on an agreement between the UK and EU is now far from clear. The chaos of a no-deal exit can by no means be ruled out, even if it is precisely what everyone has been trying to avoid. There are a range of other possibilities, but one thing is increasingly clear. May’s hapless premiership is now, effectively, over. She cannot get a deal past the Commons and her tactic of delaying and trying to pander to the Brexiteer lobby and the DUP has backfired spectacularly.

The trouble is that time is now hopelessly short. Further votes are due in the days ahead. But the issue remains that a no-deal exit – as was voted against in the Commons – is precisely what will happen unless another way forward is agreed.