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3 out of 4 Isn’t Bad Theresa May – But Your Brexit Deal Isn’t Worth Signing
Last week Theresa May returned from the continent with a 585-page Brexit proposal in hand that she says is worth signing so that Brexit negotiations can move forward to the ‘Future Relationship’ phase where the UK and the EU scope out what each side wants from the other over the next 50-years.
But is that appropriate when she’s attained only three of the four goals that 17.4 million Leave voters voted for in the EU referendum?
It seems Theresa May has done her best. Of that, there is no doubt.
Certainly, she has travelled many thousands of miles, endured being summoned to Brussels at 5:00 in the morning to discuss Brexit with her EU counterparts, has suffered through countless knock ’em down drag ’em out marathon negotiating sessions, been castigated in the world media and has faced down a fractious Conservative Party that should’ve had her back throughout the entire process.
And all of that added to the knocks that she receives in relation to the rest of her job — the non-Brexit-related portion of her Prime Ministerial duties. Being a British Prime Minister is tough at the best of times. More people want you to fail than to succeed. I can’t imagine why anyone would offer themselves up as an ongoing human sacrifice like that.
In short: adding Brexit to her brief, meant adding to Theresa May’s grief!
As unfair as it sounds, Theresa May, for all her good and admirable intentions has failed to deliver the Brexit deal that 17.4 million Britons voted for and in good conscience empowered the Prime Minister to accomplish.
Now Theresa May wants to skip past one of the four pillars of a successful Brexit and begin negotiating the future relationship with the EU. And that’s a non-starter.
As terrible as it sounds, Theresa May has failed to deliver what she promised to voters, to UK business, and to her party. So, does that mean she should resign? Does it mean her party should fire her and put someone else in 10 Downing St? Does it mean the acting Queen of the United Kingdom should ask for Theresa May’s resignation?
In a word, yes. (All three) But, first, let’s try to make Theresa May understand that she promised to deliver a fair and balanced Brexit agreement — one that included the four pillars of Brexit success — and that she still has work to do in order to be allowed by her party to proceed onto the next phase of the Brexit negotiations.
She’s been (mostly) fair with us and the British public has been (mostly) fair with her. The same applies to Conservative MP’s, to non-Conservative MP’s, the media, UK business, and in relation to other stakeholders in Britain’s future; She has been (mostly) fair with them and they’ve been (mostly) fair with her.
So, let’s continue to be fair to Ms. May and give her the information she needs to realize that 3-out-of-4 isn’t good enough and also give her our full support to empower her to bring home all four pillars of Brexit success — before allowing her to proceed any further with the Brexit negotiations.
If she can’t bring home a worthwhile Brexit agreement that will pass in the House of Commons, then the UK needs a new Prime Minister.
But before we take that drastic step, let’s pull out all the stops to give Theresa May every possible opportunity and all the support she needs in order to succeed in obtaining a worthy Brexit deal. She’s earned that respect from us.
The Four Pillars of the Leave Campaign
The four markers of success for Brexit were the reason that 17.4 million Britons voted to Leave the European Union. And only on the basis that Theresa May said she could attain those four goals was she hired-on as UK Prime Minister.
Hitting 3-out-of-4 of those goals wasn’t discussed.
If she had at the time of her hiring, mentioned that she could attain only 3-out-of-4 of those goals she wouldn’t have been hired to be the UK Prime Minister and someone else would’ve gotten the job. But we believed her, and therefore, she got the job.
The Four Pillars:
- Take back control of the UK’s borders and immigration
- Take back control of the UK legal system
- Take back control of the UK economy
- Take back control of UK trade
And Theresa May’s Brexit deal delivers only three of those points.
As the Prime Minister has said in recent days, her agreement will allow the UK to take back control over its borders and immigration policy, it will allow the country to take back control over its court system, and it will allow the UK to take back control over its economy.
But the deal she has handed in won’t allow the UK to negotiate free trade deals with other countries — and very much worse than that — there’s no end date for that portion of the agreement.
Theoretically and probably practically as well, the EU could keep the UK in a state of suspended animation — with the UK unable to write its own trade agreements — forever. And forever is a long time. Trust me on this.
Theresa May Has a Promise to Keep or She Must Step Aside
As horrible as it sounds, Theresa May has only kept 3-out-of-4 promises in regards to her most recent Brexit pronouncements, and if she can’t keep her fourth promise, she needs to step aside and let a new Prime Minister tackle the thing that couldn’t be done.
But first she should read a great poem by the poet Albert A. Guest:
Somebody said that it couldn’t be done
But he with a chuckle replied
That “maybe it couldn’t,” but he would be one
Who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it!
Somebody scoffed: “Oh, you’ll never do that;
At least no one ever has done it;”
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat
And the first thing we knew he’d begun it.
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it.
There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure,
There are thousands to point out to you one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start in to sing as you tackle the thing
That “cannot be done,” and you’ll do it.
As far as the rest of her premiership, Theresa May has done a fine job and until last week when she crashed a bit or ran out of steam, she was getting stronger and more focused every week since taking the job in July 2016, and therefore, should be accorded every respect should she choose to step down.
Few people have worked harder or endured such media spectacle and political grief and in British politics that’s saying something. All of that said however, the future of the country is more important than one Prime Minister no matter how admirably she has tried.
So, let us know your decision, Theresa. We stand by to help you reach a perfect 4-out-of-4 score — which is the only score the UK can contemplate in this case. And if you feel you can’t deliver what you’ve many times promised we wish you well in your future endeavours!
PM Theresa May Takes Calls on LBC: November 16, 2018
UK Prime Minister Offers Her Draft Brexit Proposal and Chaos Ensues!
Since Prime Minister Theresa May offered her 585 page draft Brexit document to the UK Cabinet, she has lost 2 Cabinet officials and 5 junior officials, with rumblings of perhaps double that amount to submit their resignations by Monday of next week, and further on this, ERG spokesman Jacob Rees-Mogg has submitted a Letter of No Confidence to the Conservative party executive.
It may be that Jacob’s letter to the party executive is the first of many such letters and according to the rules, once 48 such letters are received the party can then trigger a leadership contest to replace the Prime Minister. Which would be bad timing in the extreme for anyone who cares about obtaining a decent Brexit.
There is of course, only one problem with the draft document that Theresa May has proposed (and apparently the EU27 have approved) and it is that there is no mechanism for the UK to leave the proposed Customs Union before the Implementation Period ends in 2020, nor at any time following the Implementation Period.
Which means the UK will be stuck in the EU’s Customs Union and subject to their regulations indefinitely with no way out. A complete non-starter.
It’s been pointed out that it would be more difficult for the UK to leave that neverending Customs Union agreement than to leave the EU using the Article 50 clause of the Treaty on European Union. Scary thought.
The Present Chaos Will Continue Until PM May Makes a Move – Any Move!
Her choices are limited, but she must act quickly to minimize the slow motion car crash that is HM government at this time.
- She could resign, which is a terrible idea. Theresa May is the best person and is the person Britons voted for to carry out Brexit. Not only that, she’s more informed about Brexit than any of her ministers, and has been living in the eye of the storm moreso than any other House of Commons member since the EU referendum.
- She could do nothing and just let the present chaos continue, which is an even worse idea. More Cabinet Secretaries, ministers, department heads and even junior staff are poised to quit their posts in the coming days in the absence of positive steps by Theresa May to remedy the failures of the draft Brexit document.
- Theresa May could hit the talk shows to explain her Brexit proposal more fully to Britons, which is somewhat worthwhile, but that conversation will forever come back to the fact that there is no mechanism for the UK to get out of the EU Customs Union. Ever. The UK will forever be chained to the EU by the present draft agreement — even if Italy and Greece suffer a massive economic crash and take the whole works into a disastrous and long-lasting economic depression. In which case, so much for the Brexit dividend!
- The Prime Minister could put the present flawed agreement to a free vote in the House of Commons, which would prove to her how insufficient this draft proposal really is. (I don’t think she gets it) Remember, a free vote allows MP’s to vote using their own conscience and in such votes party whips focus on nothing but getting MP’s to the chamber so they don’t miss the vote. I doubt that it would muster 50 votes out of 650 at this point. Maybe much less, if she waits a week.
- Theresa May could put the present flawed agreement to a normal vote in the House of Commons and policed by party whips and it still wouldn’t pass. Not only that, she would then face the double jeopardy of more Cabinet resignations and the body politic even more frustrated with their politicians. The media… would love it though! It was nice to see them so happy to have some exciting news to report since the moment the Prime Minister released her draft proposal.
- The Prime Minister’s best course of action would be to add an end date to the document, present it to her Cabinet for their approval, and the next day present it in the House of Commons for a free vote — and it would likely pass with flying colours. However, it might not pass with the mandarins in Brussels. But a little bit of moxie is what is needed at this time, not more appeasement. I can’t stress enough, this option is the best option by a very wide margin. The EU is just going to have to like it — or make a counter-proposal — something they’ve done precious little of during the Brexit process. And why would they? So far, it’s been Theresa May negotiating with Conservative MP’s, with Labour MP’s, with her own Cabinet, and with herself. It’s time to put the EU side on the hotseat. At the very least, it will prevent an ongoing political bloodbath for Ms. May, it will help her to keep her job, it will put some of the responsibility for a successful Brexit on the shoulders of the EU side (as it should be, as it takes two to tango) and it is the most efficient way of getting past the present disastrous moment.
- If Theresa May feels she can’t do as I suggest in #6 above, she needs to resign OR she needs to declare that this draft proposal was stillborn and we are now onto a Hard Brexit which would save British taxpayers £40 billion. Or as much as £51.5 billion which is the number that is buzzing around over the past few days.
In the present political climate and with dissatisfaction by voters from all parties growing by the hour, Prime Minister May’s worst option is to do nothing.
She must act decisively, for her career, for her party’s fortunes, and for the good of the country. Sitting this one out just isn’t an option.
Theresa May’s ‘Hotel California’ Brexit Proposal
So, welcome fellow travellers… to the EU’s very own ‘Hotel California’ where, apparently, ‘you can check-in any time you like, but you can never leave’.
But of course we know that the UK can leave the European Union — that is why the UK government triggered Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union that allows a country to leave the bloc.
Then, we found out that it was going to cost £40 billion (and suddenly, as of yesterday, we find out that it may cost as much as £51.5 billion) Of course, nobody knows what the money is for. The UK taxpayer is supposed to pay it without asking any questions.
Then, we found out the EU was trying to take Northern Ireland by stealth, tying it to the EU Customs Union forever (while the rest of the UK was no longer allowed to remain within the Customs Union) as the first step of Northern Ireland’s assimilation into the EU.
Then, the EU having failed at trying to pry Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom using the ol’ distract ’em with a Customs Deal shell game, Theresa May was (again) summoned to Brussels and promptly returned with a deal that looked for all the world like it was written by the EU’s very own negotiators — complete with a clause allowing the entire UK to stay within the EU’s Customs Union — but with no mechanism for the UK to ever leave that Customs Union. Forever is a long time.
Which brings us to the great and timeless song by the Eagles… Hotel California!
Hotel California by the Eagles
(The last half of the song is paraphrased by Letter To Britain for your listening pleasure. Feel free to play the video and follow along with the ‘updated’ lyrics)
Welcome to the European Union
Such a lovely place (such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face.
They livin’ it up at the EU down in Brussels
What a nice surprise (what a nice surprise), bring your alibis.
Mirrors on the ceiling,
Billions pound sterling on ice
And Theresa May said, ‘we are all just prisoners here… of our own device’
Deep in Brussel’s chambers,
They gathered for the sterling feast
They stab the UK with their steely knives,
But they just can’t kill Britain’s spirit.
Last thing smart people remember, we were
Running for the door
We had to find the passage back to the place we were before
‘Relax’ said Barnier the EU’s man tonight,
‘We are programmed to receive.
You can check out any time you like,
But you can never leave!’
All of which means that Theresa May and the rest of HM government should be very careful about how they proceed towards the full and complete Brexit that 17.4 million Britons voted for in June 2016.
Because if this is the only deal on offer, even Remainers will understand that the so-called ‘No Deal’ Brexit is the better option. And, as this is the only offer approved by the EU apparatchiks at this time, a No Deal Brexit must now become the default option for the United Kingdom.
Letter to Britain 