https://news.sky.com/story/live-voters-reject-theresa-mays-brexit-deal-11445015
LIVE: 'No deal' Brexit would put UK in 'state of emergency'
The latest after another turbulent week at Westminster, as a poll finds voters have rejected the PM's Brexit plan.
12:53, UK, Sunday 22 July 2018
Image: Brexit would leave the UK in a 'state of emergency'
19:59
'No deal' Brexit would see UK 'state of emergency'
A senior Tory MP claims the UK would be put "in a state of emergency" with a "no deal" Brexit, as the government failed to deny stockpiling plans.
Read the full round-up here.
18:02
"Whatever people have been drinking is a lot stronger this summer"
17:47
Tory Brexiteer dismisses claims Leavers could bring down PM
17:44
PM's Brexit plan dealt "grievous blow"
17:43
Labour calls for resignation of Tory chairman and chief whip over "pairing" controversy
17:43
McDonnell defends anti-Semitism code
On the row over Labour's new anti-Semitism code, McDonnell insists the party's new code "is actually stronger than in the past".
Critics have claimed it does not meet the international definition of anti-Semitism but McDonnell says: "I've heard views expressed both ways."
He says the party will "review it" but says they have "accepted the definition" and the examples of anti-Semitism Labour have adopted are "actually stronger" than the international definition.
He says: "We've had views on both sides, we'll review and engage with those groups.
"We're going through a process and another dialogue on that."
McDonnell admits "of course" he is frustrated the party's anti-Semitism row won't disappear but adds: "We've got to get it right."
17:22
McDonnell: Tories "imploding rapidly"
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell tells Sky News Sophy Ridge on Sunday show the government is "imploding rapidly".
He adds: "From hour to hour we don't know which faction of the Conservative Party is in power."
McDonnell reveals Labour are taking advice from a former head of the civil service and ex-PM Gordon Brown on preparing for government.
He claims Labour "would change the whole atmosphere of the negotiations" with the EU.
Asked if there is any really difference between the government's Brexit plan and Labour's position, McDonnell points to Labour's commitment to a customs union.
McDonnell doesn't rule out a second EU referendum, but says it is not Labour policy.
17:11
Second Brexit vote "may be the only solution"
Grieve says a second EU referendum "may be the only solution" but admits it's "not an ideal solution".
He insists a new Brexit vote would not be a betrayal, adding: "When we have a general election, it doesn't prevent us having another general election."
The former attorney general says: "I don't prescribe to the view the referendum result is written in stone."
17:09
Grieve admits Tory Brexiteers could bring down the PM
Grieve says there are a "large number of MPs are unhappy about the direction of travel", with Labour MPs frustrated at the "lack of responsiveness about Brexit" from Jeremy Corbyn.
He claims Tory Brexiteers "ruthlessly undermined" the PM's Brexit proposal last week.
On the PM's chances of surviving, Grieve adds: "The only group that could possibly bring the PM down is my hard Brexit colleagues if they so lose the plot."
https://www.rt.com/uk/434571-brexit-no-deal-army/
‘God, help us’: British Army on standby in case of no-deal Brexit supply issues
Published time: 29 Jul, 2018 10:23
Get short URL
© Russell Boyce/Reuters
The possibility of a no-deal Brexit made the Ministry of Defence “dust off” blueprints to use of army trucks and helicopters to deliver key supplies to far flung parts of the UK – something usually reserved for civil emergencies, like severe weather.
Read more
EU trying to cheat UK out of Brexit, May should walk away with no deal – Salvini
However a source inside the department said they have not yet received “a formal request” to assist the civilian authorities, according to the Sunday Times.
An unnamed minister downplayed the alarmist nature of the news to the paper, saying that the government was “just being realistic” about the potential pitfalls of a no-deal, adding that the army would only be called in if blockages at ports were preventing the supply of food, fuel, and medicines from entering the country.
“There is a lot of civil contingency planning around the prospect of no deal. That’s not frightening the horses, that’s just being utterly realistic,” they told the Times report.
Without securing a new Free Trade Agreement with the EU, a no-deal, the UK would revert to World Trade Organization rules resulting in the imposing of tariffs on goods that the UK sends to the EU, and on goods the EU sends to the UK.
This lack of “frictionless trade” could see a 10-mile-long motorway in south-east England turned into a “holding area” for goods vehicles, as up to 10,000 trucks a day would suddenly require customs checks to enter the EU, according to the Financial Times.
READ MORE: From ‘taking back control’ to stockpiling food, Brexit bravado has become a whimper
The pro-EU Labour MP David Lammy took aim at the news on Twitter saying: “God, help us. This is not coming from Remainers. This is not project fear. Pro-Brexit Ministers are drawing up blueprints for the army to deliver food, fuel and medicine if we leave the EU with no deal.”
“We have a duty to prevent this self-immolation,” he added.
However, the former Brexit secretary David Davis, who resigned from the position earlier this month over his dissatisfaction with a possible soft Brexit deal, dismissed the story as an attempt to scare people in order to secure a Free Trade Agreement “which will tank the economy.”
Talk of shortages of food and medicines in the wake of a possible no-deal has come to the fore recently, with NHS bosses planning to stockpile key drugs and blood supplies in the event the service has to go on a permanent winter-crisis footing.
Supermarkets, meanwhile have told suppliers to make plans for a no-deal which could see them stockpile goods such a tea and coffee for periods much longer than normal.
Subscribe to RT newsletter to get stories the mainstream media won’t tell you.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/995732/brexit-news-food-supply-aldi-dominic-raab
Brexit latest: Popular supermarket tells suppliers to prepare for ‘NO DEAL’ Brexit
A MAJOR UK supermarket has contacted its suppliers and asked them to begin backup planning in the event Britain leaves the EU with a ‘no deal’ Brexit, just days after rumours emerged of medical and food stockpiling.
By Caitlin Doherty
PUBLISHED: 06:03, Sun, Jul 29, 2018 | UPDATED: 10:15, Sun, Jul 29, 2018
80
0
Dominic Raab suggested last week it was grocers' responsibility to ensure food supplies (Image: GETTY )
Aldi emailed its UK suppliers in June to begin the planning process, according to an investigation by the Sunday Times.
The message from the discount retailer said they wanted to “help suppliers understand the potential implications” of a ‘no deal’ Brexit.
They want to “mitigate any negative impacts” of leaving without an agreed trade and customs deal.
The supermarket is said to have attached a spreadsheet to its messages asking partners a total of 15 questions.
Related articles
One of Aldi’s suppliers told the Sunday Times that planning for ‘no deal’ stockpiling was something already on the minds of a lot of retailers.
Giles Hurley, supplier of coffee to the German store brand, said: “Most of the major retailers have been asking their suppliers how we are planning for the implications of Brexit.
“Especially how we are planning to ensure we do not run out of the goods we bring in from the EU.
“They can easily sit back and say they have no plans or concerns because, as usual in this relationship, it will be the suppliers who make the plans.”
Chequers summit in pictures: Theresa May's big Brexit meeting
Fri, July 6, 2018 The Prime Minister gathered her cabinet together ahead of a crunch Brexit showdown at her country retreat at Chequers in Buckinghamshire
Play slideshow
PA
1 of 14
Members of the cabinet and government officials gather at Chequers
The chairman of one grocery chain has said the suggestions sound like “a bit of a Remoaner story”.
They continued by saying they thought that any ‘no deal’ preparations would not be made until the scenario was more definite.
They added: “We’re some way off ‘no deal’ and tariffs being imposed and queues at Dover.
“My guess is smart retailers will be planning for the best and then planning for the worst closer to the time.”
However, another supermarket chairman was more concerned about long-term planning options for the year ahead.
Brexiteer mocks Remainer over second Brexit referendum
They said: “We’re looking at all the options.
“But there will come a point in this calendar year where, if people are going to book extra warehouse space or make additional transport arrangements, they will have to start doing it because there isn’t unlimited capacity.”
Last week, Brexit Secretary Dominic Rabb implied it was the responsibility of shops and suppliers to ensure the UK had “adequate food supplies” after Bexit.
British Retail Consortium responded that stockpiling was “not a practical response” to Brexit issues.
It confirmed it had “not been approached by Government to begin planning for this”.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/28/brexit-car-crash-only-britain-can-save-itself
No one else wants a Brexit car crash, but only Britain can steer itself to safety
John Kerr
It’s not too late to ask for extra time, a second referendum or even a proper deal
Sat 28 Jul 2018 21.00 BST Last modified on Sun 29 Jul 2018 11.24 BST
Shares
1,024
Comments
5,526
Theresa May in Salzburg, Austria with chancellor Sebastian Kurz on 27 July. Photograph: Barbara Gindl/AFP/Getty Images
The crash feels inevitable. We’re in a long slow skid, steering locked, traction lost, ravine looming.
Workable deals like Norway’s are still blocked by the red lines drawn in Mrs May’s party conference speech two years ago. Her “bespoke” Chequers proposals won’t fly in Brussels or with her hardline ERG/DUP supporters, who forced amendments before the white paper ink was dry.
Only the hardest of hardliners want us to crash out in March with no deal, defaulting on our agreed financial commitments, forgoing any transition period: the business community rightly warns of the chaos that would ensue, with lorry parks on the Dover road, flights grounded, shortages of food and medicines. Yet the risk of all this happening by accident is rising because article 50 lays down that, two years after triggering the exit procedure, the departing state is out, deal or no deal, and Mrs May pulled the trigger on 29 March 2017.
Sign up to our Brexit weekly briefing
Read more
The treaty provision isn’t unreasonable. Setting a time limit responded to Eurosceptics’ demands that states who wanted out shouldn’t be trapped in endless negotiation. And two years seemed ample time to sort out amicable divorce terms and agree a framework for the future relationship. No one imagined a member state starting the negotiations clock before deciding on a negotiating position or delaying for over 15 months before seeking cabinet consensus on what kind of future relationship it sought. Don’t blame the treaty: the time pressure we’re now under is entirely of our own making.
One way out of the mess would be to take the pressure off. The treaty also allows for extra time, if everyone agrees. Would the 27 other members agree? I don’t know, but none of them wants a car crash in March. It was interesting to see the June European council agree a contingency plan to permit the next European parliament, next summer, to retain seats for 71 UK MEPs, should we still be in. But we won’t know whether extra time is feasible until someone suggests it, as the 27 might well do, perhaps as soon as October, if negotiations are still stuck.
Theresa May in Austria in attempt to revive Chequers Brexit plan
Read more
Our government’s current answer would be no. It insisted, against House of Lords advice, on writing into the withdrawal bill, now act, an exit on 29 March 2019. Not wise: concrete on the feet rarely is. I don’t know why Mrs May decided to send her letter on 29 March 2017, setting the clock ticking: no one can claim that the country voted in 2016 for the exit date now in the act. But if the government were to change its position we could easily amend the act. The die isn’t irrevocably cast.
That’s also true in a much more fundamental sense. Mrs May’s letter satisfied the treaty requirement, set out in article 50, to notify the EU of an intention to leave. But intentions can change and an article 50 notification isn’t an irrevocable act. We could take the letter back at any time before 29 March 2019 or before the end of any agreed extra time. There would be no price, political or financial, to pay, because we would never have left. Our membership terms – with all the hard-won opt-outs, opt-ins, rebates, special deals – would be unchanged, because our membership would never have lapsed. We haven’t yet crossed the Rubicon.
Nathalie Loiseau, Europe minister in President Macron’s government, told the Today programme last week that “the door remains open” and that we could stay “on the same terms”, should we so wish. She was right. And when she went on to say that she hoped we would indeed stay, she was only repeating what her president, and Presidents Tusk and Juncker, and prime ministers all across Europe, regularly say. They recognise that the decision is ours alone, but they’d much prefer us not to go. All 27 think any Brexit, hard or soft, is bad for all, though worst for us.
At Westminster, the July debates revealed no majority for a Chequers soft Brexit. There’s also no majority for a deliberate hard Brexit, though accidents can happen. We know that this parliament won’t vote for no Brexit, overturning the 2016 result. Hence the deadlock. To break it, parliament could, and in my view should, insist that the people be consulted again, given the new facts. Democracy didn’t end in 2016, and much that the Leavers then promised had turned out to be unobtainable.
Last week’s YouGov poll tells us that a majority across the country now want a people’s vote when agreed exit terms are clear or it’s clear that none will be agreed. So consulting the people would be respecting the will of the people. The necessary extra time under article 50 would be easily obtained: the 27 would be happy to see the country make an informed decision on whether the article 50 letter should stand or be withdrawn.
If we do nothing, neither securing an extension nor withdrawing the letter, but going on dancing to the ERG’s tune, the car will go over the cliff on 29 March. But we could still stop the skid, taking back control. The crash isn’t yet inevitable.
• John Kerr drafted article 50 and is a former UK ambassador to the European Union
LIVE: 'No deal' Brexit would put UK in 'state of emergency'
The latest after another turbulent week at Westminster, as a poll finds voters have rejected the PM's Brexit plan.
12:53, UK, Sunday 22 July 2018
Image: Brexit would leave the UK in a 'state of emergency'
- UK would be left in 'state of emergency' with 'no deal' Brexit
- New Brexit secretary tells EU: No deal, no divorce bill
- Poll finds voters reject PM's Brexit deal
19:59
'No deal' Brexit would see UK 'state of emergency'
A senior Tory MP claims the UK would be put "in a state of emergency" with a "no deal" Brexit, as the government failed to deny stockpiling plans.
Read the full round-up here.
18:02
"Whatever people have been drinking is a lot stronger this summer"
17:47
Tory Brexiteer dismisses claims Leavers could bring down PM
17:44
PM's Brexit plan dealt "grievous blow"
17:43
Labour calls for resignation of Tory chairman and chief whip over "pairing" controversy
17:43
McDonnell defends anti-Semitism code
On the row over Labour's new anti-Semitism code, McDonnell insists the party's new code "is actually stronger than in the past".
Critics have claimed it does not meet the international definition of anti-Semitism but McDonnell says: "I've heard views expressed both ways."
He says the party will "review it" but says they have "accepted the definition" and the examples of anti-Semitism Labour have adopted are "actually stronger" than the international definition.
He says: "We've had views on both sides, we'll review and engage with those groups.
"We're going through a process and another dialogue on that."
McDonnell admits "of course" he is frustrated the party's anti-Semitism row won't disappear but adds: "We've got to get it right."
17:22
McDonnell: Tories "imploding rapidly"
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell tells Sky News Sophy Ridge on Sunday show the government is "imploding rapidly".
He adds: "From hour to hour we don't know which faction of the Conservative Party is in power."
McDonnell reveals Labour are taking advice from a former head of the civil service and ex-PM Gordon Brown on preparing for government.
He claims Labour "would change the whole atmosphere of the negotiations" with the EU.
Asked if there is any really difference between the government's Brexit plan and Labour's position, McDonnell points to Labour's commitment to a customs union.
McDonnell doesn't rule out a second EU referendum, but says it is not Labour policy.
17:11
Second Brexit vote "may be the only solution"
Grieve says a second EU referendum "may be the only solution" but admits it's "not an ideal solution".
He insists a new Brexit vote would not be a betrayal, adding: "When we have a general election, it doesn't prevent us having another general election."
The former attorney general says: "I don't prescribe to the view the referendum result is written in stone."
17:09
Grieve admits Tory Brexiteers could bring down the PM
Grieve says there are a "large number of MPs are unhappy about the direction of travel", with Labour MPs frustrated at the "lack of responsiveness about Brexit" from Jeremy Corbyn.
He claims Tory Brexiteers "ruthlessly undermined" the PM's Brexit proposal last week.
On the PM's chances of surviving, Grieve adds: "The only group that could possibly bring the PM down is my hard Brexit colleagues if they so lose the plot."
https://www.rt.com/uk/434571-brexit-no-deal-army/
‘God, help us’: British Army on standby in case of no-deal Brexit supply issues
Published time: 29 Jul, 2018 10:23
Get short URL
© Russell Boyce/Reuters
- 167
The possibility of a no-deal Brexit made the Ministry of Defence “dust off” blueprints to use of army trucks and helicopters to deliver key supplies to far flung parts of the UK – something usually reserved for civil emergencies, like severe weather.
Read more
EU trying to cheat UK out of Brexit, May should walk away with no deal – Salvini However a source inside the department said they have not yet received “a formal request” to assist the civilian authorities, according to the Sunday Times.
An unnamed minister downplayed the alarmist nature of the news to the paper, saying that the government was “just being realistic” about the potential pitfalls of a no-deal, adding that the army would only be called in if blockages at ports were preventing the supply of food, fuel, and medicines from entering the country.
“There is a lot of civil contingency planning around the prospect of no deal. That’s not frightening the horses, that’s just being utterly realistic,” they told the Times report.
Without securing a new Free Trade Agreement with the EU, a no-deal, the UK would revert to World Trade Organization rules resulting in the imposing of tariffs on goods that the UK sends to the EU, and on goods the EU sends to the UK.
This lack of “frictionless trade” could see a 10-mile-long motorway in south-east England turned into a “holding area” for goods vehicles, as up to 10,000 trucks a day would suddenly require customs checks to enter the EU, according to the Financial Times.
READ MORE: From ‘taking back control’ to stockpiling food, Brexit bravado has become a whimper
The pro-EU Labour MP David Lammy took aim at the news on Twitter saying: “God, help us. This is not coming from Remainers. This is not project fear. Pro-Brexit Ministers are drawing up blueprints for the army to deliver food, fuel and medicine if we leave the EU with no deal.”
“We have a duty to prevent this self-immolation,” he added.
However, the former Brexit secretary David Davis, who resigned from the position earlier this month over his dissatisfaction with a possible soft Brexit deal, dismissed the story as an attempt to scare people in order to secure a Free Trade Agreement “which will tank the economy.”
Talk of shortages of food and medicines in the wake of a possible no-deal has come to the fore recently, with NHS bosses planning to stockpile key drugs and blood supplies in the event the service has to go on a permanent winter-crisis footing.
Supermarkets, meanwhile have told suppliers to make plans for a no-deal which could see them stockpile goods such a tea and coffee for periods much longer than normal.
Subscribe to RT newsletter to get stories the mainstream media won’t tell you.
- 167
https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/995732/brexit-news-food-supply-aldi-dominic-raab
Brexit latest: Popular supermarket tells suppliers to prepare for ‘NO DEAL’ Brexit
A MAJOR UK supermarket has contacted its suppliers and asked them to begin backup planning in the event Britain leaves the EU with a ‘no deal’ Brexit, just days after rumours emerged of medical and food stockpiling.
By Caitlin Doherty
PUBLISHED: 06:03, Sun, Jul 29, 2018 | UPDATED: 10:15, Sun, Jul 29, 2018
80
0
Dominic Raab suggested last week it was grocers' responsibility to ensure food supplies (Image: GETTY )
Aldi emailed its UK suppliers in June to begin the planning process, according to an investigation by the Sunday Times.
The message from the discount retailer said they wanted to “help suppliers understand the potential implications” of a ‘no deal’ Brexit.
They want to “mitigate any negative impacts” of leaving without an agreed trade and customs deal.
The supermarket is said to have attached a spreadsheet to its messages asking partners a total of 15 questions.
Related articles
-
Grassroots Conservative members in OPEN REVOLT over Brexit -
EU is trying to ‘swindle’ UK in Brexit talks, says Italian politician
One of Aldi’s suppliers told the Sunday Times that planning for ‘no deal’ stockpiling was something already on the minds of a lot of retailers.
Giles Hurley, supplier of coffee to the German store brand, said: “Most of the major retailers have been asking their suppliers how we are planning for the implications of Brexit.
“Especially how we are planning to ensure we do not run out of the goods we bring in from the EU.
“They can easily sit back and say they have no plans or concerns because, as usual in this relationship, it will be the suppliers who make the plans.”
Chequers summit in pictures: Theresa May's big Brexit meeting
Fri, July 6, 2018 The Prime Minister gathered her cabinet together ahead of a crunch Brexit showdown at her country retreat at Chequers in Buckinghamshire
Play slideshow
PA
1 of 14
Members of the cabinet and government officials gather at Chequers
The chairman of one grocery chain has said the suggestions sound like “a bit of a Remoaner story”.
They continued by saying they thought that any ‘no deal’ preparations would not be made until the scenario was more definite.
They added: “We’re some way off ‘no deal’ and tariffs being imposed and queues at Dover.
“My guess is smart retailers will be planning for the best and then planning for the worst closer to the time.”
However, another supermarket chairman was more concerned about long-term planning options for the year ahead.
Brexiteer mocks Remainer over second Brexit referendum
They said: “We’re looking at all the options.
“But there will come a point in this calendar year where, if people are going to book extra warehouse space or make additional transport arrangements, they will have to start doing it because there isn’t unlimited capacity.”
Last week, Brexit Secretary Dominic Rabb implied it was the responsibility of shops and suppliers to ensure the UK had “adequate food supplies” after Bexit.
British Retail Consortium responded that stockpiling was “not a practical response” to Brexit issues.
It confirmed it had “not been approached by Government to begin planning for this”.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/28/brexit-car-crash-only-britain-can-save-itself
No one else wants a Brexit car crash, but only Britain can steer itself to safety
John Kerr
It’s not too late to ask for extra time, a second referendum or even a proper deal
Sat 28 Jul 2018 21.00 BST Last modified on Sun 29 Jul 2018 11.24 BST
Shares
1,024
Comments
5,526
Theresa May in Salzburg, Austria with chancellor Sebastian Kurz on 27 July. Photograph: Barbara Gindl/AFP/Getty Images
The crash feels inevitable. We’re in a long slow skid, steering locked, traction lost, ravine looming.
Workable deals like Norway’s are still blocked by the red lines drawn in Mrs May’s party conference speech two years ago. Her “bespoke” Chequers proposals won’t fly in Brussels or with her hardline ERG/DUP supporters, who forced amendments before the white paper ink was dry.
Only the hardest of hardliners want us to crash out in March with no deal, defaulting on our agreed financial commitments, forgoing any transition period: the business community rightly warns of the chaos that would ensue, with lorry parks on the Dover road, flights grounded, shortages of food and medicines. Yet the risk of all this happening by accident is rising because article 50 lays down that, two years after triggering the exit procedure, the departing state is out, deal or no deal, and Mrs May pulled the trigger on 29 March 2017.
Sign up to our Brexit weekly briefing
Read more
The treaty provision isn’t unreasonable. Setting a time limit responded to Eurosceptics’ demands that states who wanted out shouldn’t be trapped in endless negotiation. And two years seemed ample time to sort out amicable divorce terms and agree a framework for the future relationship. No one imagined a member state starting the negotiations clock before deciding on a negotiating position or delaying for over 15 months before seeking cabinet consensus on what kind of future relationship it sought. Don’t blame the treaty: the time pressure we’re now under is entirely of our own making.
One way out of the mess would be to take the pressure off. The treaty also allows for extra time, if everyone agrees. Would the 27 other members agree? I don’t know, but none of them wants a car crash in March. It was interesting to see the June European council agree a contingency plan to permit the next European parliament, next summer, to retain seats for 71 UK MEPs, should we still be in. But we won’t know whether extra time is feasible until someone suggests it, as the 27 might well do, perhaps as soon as October, if negotiations are still stuck.
Theresa May in Austria in attempt to revive Chequers Brexit plan
Read more
Our government’s current answer would be no. It insisted, against House of Lords advice, on writing into the withdrawal bill, now act, an exit on 29 March 2019. Not wise: concrete on the feet rarely is. I don’t know why Mrs May decided to send her letter on 29 March 2017, setting the clock ticking: no one can claim that the country voted in 2016 for the exit date now in the act. But if the government were to change its position we could easily amend the act. The die isn’t irrevocably cast.
That’s also true in a much more fundamental sense. Mrs May’s letter satisfied the treaty requirement, set out in article 50, to notify the EU of an intention to leave. But intentions can change and an article 50 notification isn’t an irrevocable act. We could take the letter back at any time before 29 March 2019 or before the end of any agreed extra time. There would be no price, political or financial, to pay, because we would never have left. Our membership terms – with all the hard-won opt-outs, opt-ins, rebates, special deals – would be unchanged, because our membership would never have lapsed. We haven’t yet crossed the Rubicon.
Nathalie Loiseau, Europe minister in President Macron’s government, told the Today programme last week that “the door remains open” and that we could stay “on the same terms”, should we so wish. She was right. And when she went on to say that she hoped we would indeed stay, she was only repeating what her president, and Presidents Tusk and Juncker, and prime ministers all across Europe, regularly say. They recognise that the decision is ours alone, but they’d much prefer us not to go. All 27 think any Brexit, hard or soft, is bad for all, though worst for us.
At Westminster, the July debates revealed no majority for a Chequers soft Brexit. There’s also no majority for a deliberate hard Brexit, though accidents can happen. We know that this parliament won’t vote for no Brexit, overturning the 2016 result. Hence the deadlock. To break it, parliament could, and in my view should, insist that the people be consulted again, given the new facts. Democracy didn’t end in 2016, and much that the Leavers then promised had turned out to be unobtainable.
Last week’s YouGov poll tells us that a majority across the country now want a people’s vote when agreed exit terms are clear or it’s clear that none will be agreed. So consulting the people would be respecting the will of the people. The necessary extra time under article 50 would be easily obtained: the 27 would be happy to see the country make an informed decision on whether the article 50 letter should stand or be withdrawn.
If we do nothing, neither securing an extension nor withdrawing the letter, but going on dancing to the ERG’s tune, the car will go over the cliff on 29 March. But we could still stop the skid, taking back control. The crash isn’t yet inevitable.
• John Kerr drafted article 50 and is a former UK ambassador to the European Union
