THE QUESTION is, between Prime Minister Theresa May going into the EU Summit yesterday (Thursday) with the plan of extending Article 50 until June 30th, and her leaving the EU Summit with the news Brexit had been delayed by a mere fortnight to April 12th, what did Mrs May do to shrink the time frame to such an extent that it mimicked cash being drained through a daytime quiz show prize totaliser? As usual the answer lies not in what Mrs May did, but rather what she did not do.
Her address to EU leaders was, according to feedback, "90 minutes of nothing" as she failed to convince them she had a plan to avoid a No Deal Brexit, should her own deal, inevitably, be voted down by Parliament. An insider commented: "Asked three times what she would do if she lost the vote, she couldn't say. It was awful. Dreadful. Evasive even by her standards."
After several hours, the EU decided "she didn't have a plan so they needed to come up with one for her". They agreed April 12th would be the new March 29th - the new cliff-edge. During this fortnight all options will be on the table including an ability for the UK to ask for a longer extension period. On being asked how long that could be, Jean-Claude Juncker replied: "Until the very end", which judging by how we all feel, could be next week, next month, or never.
One would imagine, ordinarily, that an individual in Mrs May's predicament would welcome any potential get-out-clause. The fact Mrs May has rejected a petition to revoke Article 50 signed by some 2.5 million people and climbing - predominantly those prompted into some form of action following her "breakdown" on live TV on Wednesday (when she blamed MPs for everything) - is what - nonsensical?
Mrs May's spokesperson said: "The Prime Minister has long been clear that failing to deliver on the referendum result would be a failure of our democracy." This Reporter doesn't know about you, but Mrs May's spiel sounds increasingly out-dated.
Meanwhile, in a one-off collaboration the TUC and the CBI have come together to jointly warn Mrs May that she must make urgent changes to her approach to Brexit as the country now faces a "national emergency".
A joint letter reads that a plan B needs to be drawn up as quickly as possible, continuing: "Decisions of recent days have caused the risk of no deal to soar. Firms and communities are not ready for this outcome. The shock to our economy would be felt by generations to come". But, you've guessed it, Mrs May hasn't taken on board a single word of it.
Meanwhile, not to alarm, but The Ministry of Defence has set up an operations room in a bunker at Whitehall to deal with No Deal Brexit. The preparations are being made under the banner "Operation Redfold" and include readying 3,500 troops for action. It has not been made clear what other preparations are underway or what these troops will be used for but it does appear the line between No Deal Brexit and nuclear war has become increasingly blurred.
What other "good news" to tell...The Tory party's second biggest donor has called for "a government of national unity" to be formed to solve the Brexit crisis. John Griffin, the taxi tycoon, said: "It is like the last world war. We have to get together, agree that we are in the middle of a crisis, and show that we are unified. This is not going to be fixed unless we all get together as a government - and I am talking about all parties. We need to get together as soon as possible. Tomorrow would be good". Mrs May has not been forthcoming with comment.
Time to Google "Anderson Shelter".
Her address to EU leaders was, according to feedback, "90 minutes of nothing" as she failed to convince them she had a plan to avoid a No Deal Brexit, should her own deal, inevitably, be voted down by Parliament. An insider commented: "Asked three times what she would do if she lost the vote, she couldn't say. It was awful. Dreadful. Evasive even by her standards."
After several hours, the EU decided "she didn't have a plan so they needed to come up with one for her". They agreed April 12th would be the new March 29th - the new cliff-edge. During this fortnight all options will be on the table including an ability for the UK to ask for a longer extension period. On being asked how long that could be, Jean-Claude Juncker replied: "Until the very end", which judging by how we all feel, could be next week, next month, or never.
One would imagine, ordinarily, that an individual in Mrs May's predicament would welcome any potential get-out-clause. The fact Mrs May has rejected a petition to revoke Article 50 signed by some 2.5 million people and climbing - predominantly those prompted into some form of action following her "breakdown" on live TV on Wednesday (when she blamed MPs for everything) - is what - nonsensical?
Mrs May's spokesperson said: "The Prime Minister has long been clear that failing to deliver on the referendum result would be a failure of our democracy." This Reporter doesn't know about you, but Mrs May's spiel sounds increasingly out-dated.
Meanwhile, in a one-off collaboration the TUC and the CBI have come together to jointly warn Mrs May that she must make urgent changes to her approach to Brexit as the country now faces a "national emergency".
A joint letter reads that a plan B needs to be drawn up as quickly as possible, continuing: "Decisions of recent days have caused the risk of no deal to soar. Firms and communities are not ready for this outcome. The shock to our economy would be felt by generations to come". But, you've guessed it, Mrs May hasn't taken on board a single word of it.
Meanwhile, not to alarm, but The Ministry of Defence has set up an operations room in a bunker at Whitehall to deal with No Deal Brexit. The preparations are being made under the banner "Operation Redfold" and include readying 3,500 troops for action. It has not been made clear what other preparations are underway or what these troops will be used for but it does appear the line between No Deal Brexit and nuclear war has become increasingly blurred.
What other "good news" to tell...The Tory party's second biggest donor has called for "a government of national unity" to be formed to solve the Brexit crisis. John Griffin, the taxi tycoon, said: "It is like the last world war. We have to get together, agree that we are in the middle of a crisis, and show that we are unified. This is not going to be fixed unless we all get together as a government - and I am talking about all parties. We need to get together as soon as possible. Tomorrow would be good". Mrs May has not been forthcoming with comment.
Time to Google "Anderson Shelter".
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