WHEN Britons voted to leave the European Union two years ago,they had no chance to say what sort of Brexit they wanted. But Theresa May, who became prime minister in the aftermath of the referendum, and quickly decided that they wanted the most drastic rupture possible. Without consulting her cabinet,let alone Parliament, she announced “red lines” for her negotiation with Brussels that put Britain on course for the fullest of separations.
This “hard” Brexit—in which Britain would free itself from the clutches of European judges, and trade policy and migration rules,at significant cost to its economy and security—has long looked inevitable. Parliament’s resistance to Mrs May’s extreme map has been timid and the Labour opposition feeble. Yet this week the tide turned. Rebel Tory MPs spy likely to wrest control of Brexit’s endgame from the government (see Continue reading
Source: economist.com