With 50 days left before the official date for leaving the EU, we may just have hit peak Brexit mayhem. Can it get any worse than this? Seriously. The cabinet has a three-way split between those who see a no-deal Brexit as economic and political armageddon – the Rudds, Hammonds, Gaukes and so on – those who would prefer a negotiated deal but secretly like the idea of a purer rupture – the Leadsoms, Foxes and Mordaunts – and those sitting in the middle with their fingers in their ears, thinking happy thoughts and hoping none of this is really happening.
“It is frustrating how many in the cabinet are just sitting this out” said one minister.
The Labour frontbench and top team has its equivalent division, between Corbyn and his Unite-linked allies – who want Brexit – and those who’d like the UK to stay in the EU via a referendum – the Watsons and Starmers – and then, slightly to one side, the arch-pragmatist McDonnell, who is judging which route best secures a Labour government.
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