More delay

I had hoped that this might have been the week that we finally got some clarity on just how badly the country was going to be hit by the Brexit tsunami, but, true to form, Theresa May has postponed a decision yet again, until the 12th of March this time. Since this is barely two weeks before the deadline, and she has, entirely predictably, made no further progress towards a deal, it is looking ever more likely that we will end up with the worst of possible outcomes.

In these circumstances one might expect that our elected representatives would do something constructive, but instead we’re getting a doomed centrist realignment, which isn’t really what is needed.

Still, it is just about possible to imagine a way out; Labour propose a suspension of article 50, enough MPs from the relatively sensible wing of the Tory party support the idea to see it carried, the EU agree to this on the condition that the delay is long enough to actually work out a deal, this allows time for momentum to build behind the demand for a second referendum, which results in a clear majority for remain, allowing the nation to move on from the whole sorry episode.

I’d have to concede that this scenario is unlikely, and even if it unfolds exactly as I predict there would still be the not inconsiderable problem of a sizeable and emboldened far-right armed with a convenient betrayal narrative. I’d take that though, since the alternative is no-deal, and a triumphant far-right ready to exploit the subsequent economic implosion.