Agony prolonged

For many people, next Friday was supposed to be a celebration. Boris Johnson spoke about an ‘independence day’ marking the beginning of a new era of national self-confidence. But as we approach 29 March, not even ardent Brexiteers can claim that there is anything to celebrate. Theresa May has been reduced to asking, or rather begging, the EU for an extension to Article 50 — something that the EU has said it will grant only if Britain can provide a good reason for needing the extra time. So far, the Prime Minister has not provided one, apart from the prolonging of every-one’s agony.

When parliament voted to enact Article 50 two years ago, the challenge seemed daunting but perfectly possible. The government had a clear strategy: to negotiate a free trade deal with the EU while leaving the single market and customs union. If it wasn’t possible to agree a good deal with the EU, we would leave without one, but well prepared for what followed.

Instead, with only a week to go until the date on which we were supposed to leave, no one is any the wiser as to how events will play out. After a reckless gamble on an early election, May lost her majority, then lost her nerve. Calamitously, she agreed to the EU’s sequencing of talks: that we would discuss a trade deal only after we’d agreed how much money we would hand over and what we would do about the Irish border. Then she lost control over her government, allowing those opposed to Brexit to make sure there was no proper no-deal plan. This all led to the shameful mess before us now.