- Soft Brexit has failed, a new report has found, and another vote can be expected
- Soft Leave’s failure linked to 3-year long wait and Theresa May’s rigid handling of Brexit process
- Torie-led parliament’s attempt to take over from government proved disastrous
Martin Kettle, The Guardian’s columnist on April 25 stated that there will be no soft deal, which was often considered the least bad option when it comes to Brexit, and as such, another vote can be expected; Kettle also attributed his stance to Prime Minister Theresa May’s “rigid and error-strewn” method used in handling the Brexit process.
Pro-Europeans’ faced with a dilemma over Brexit
Pro-Europeans’ perception of the British exit from the European Union now face a dilemma. They believed it could be a disaster waiting to happen for Britain and had to deal with the reality that it was a vote by the majority.
However, since the Brexit’s vote in 2016, things have changed and this can be attributed to the 3-year long wait, as well as Theresa May’s rigid method of handling the process which has still failed to deliver a soft Brexit.
While many may not have agreed to the Brexit in the first place, a soft Brexit where a deal is made is a better option in comparison to a hard one. The former, for instance, comes with a ray of hope for a possible reintegration with Europe in the future.
Kettle further noted that even though the EU and Britain had come to a withdrawal agreement five months ago, die-hard Brexiteers had failed to establish a hard deal and even unseat May.
Talks with Labour looking grim
May began talks with Labour in April and gave the impression that there was about to be a Brexit compromise even though it was far from it and the talks are apparently not really heading anywhere, with May and Jeremy Corbyn only pointing fingers at each other and May being unwilling to compromise on a single point.
Their reluctance, in this case, has been attributed in part to the need to avert any blame that they were responsible for failed talks.
Pressing Issues on the Table
There are, however, pressing issues on the table and among these, are the terms to be set for a future customs union on a single market alignment. Another is the issue of future-proofing agreements against a new Conservative leader.
Attempts have been made by the Torie-led parliament to take control of the negotiations. So far, however, they have failed.
MPs like Nick Boles and Stephen Kinnock have also made efforts to bring about a soft leave and the same can be said about the inter-party, and the Cabinet. What each of them has in common is that their efforts have proved seemingly fruitless.
This and many more failures have led to the conclusion that a soft Brexit deal has failed, and the only options are now a hard leave or a new vote.
