U.K.’s Ruling Party Is Clashing Over ‘Brexit.’ Again.
- 6 years ago
U.K.’s Ruling Party Is Clashing Over ‘Brexit.’ Again.
The divisions within the Conservative Party were further underscored on Wednesday with the emergence of a letter from more than 60 Brexit-supporting lawmakers calling for a clean break with the European Union — demands
that one of their pro-European colleagues, Heidi Allen, said suggested "an ideological obsession with Brexit at all costs."
These demands suggest an ideological obsession with Brexit at all costs.
If Mrs. May sides too much with Mr. Hammond, Brexit supporters might challenge her leadership; if she cleaves
too much to Mr. Johnson, she could face defeat in Parliament when it ultimately votes on the Brexit terms.
But with that withdrawal a little over a year away, silence is no longer an option, and on Wednesday it was the turn of hard-line supporters of withdrawal to be disappointed when a government paper appeared to suggest
that the transition period after Brexit could be longer than two years.
In the meantime, the government on Wednesday sought to reassure pro-Brexit lawmakers, insisting
that there would be an early end date to the transition period, during which Britain plans to negotiate the details of a trade deal with the European Union, something widely expected to take several years.
Our economy needs all options to be left on the table - transition, customs union, EEA EFTA, the works... oh,
and a vote of Parliament...https://t.co/dcipIlOjHw Since losing her parliamentary majority in an election last June, Mrs. May has often played for time, refusing to reveal detailed objectives to her European interlocutors as she balances demands from competing factions within her party.
That objective remains the crucial dividing line as Mrs. May has to balance the demands of those who want a clean break with the bloc, like the extroverted Foreign Secretary
Boris Johnson, against the preference others like the more cautious chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, who want to retain close ties to protect Britain’s economy.
The divisions within the Conservative Party were further underscored on Wednesday with the emergence of a letter from more than 60 Brexit-supporting lawmakers calling for a clean break with the European Union — demands
that one of their pro-European colleagues, Heidi Allen, said suggested "an ideological obsession with Brexit at all costs."
These demands suggest an ideological obsession with Brexit at all costs.
If Mrs. May sides too much with Mr. Hammond, Brexit supporters might challenge her leadership; if she cleaves
too much to Mr. Johnson, she could face defeat in Parliament when it ultimately votes on the Brexit terms.
But with that withdrawal a little over a year away, silence is no longer an option, and on Wednesday it was the turn of hard-line supporters of withdrawal to be disappointed when a government paper appeared to suggest
that the transition period after Brexit could be longer than two years.
In the meantime, the government on Wednesday sought to reassure pro-Brexit lawmakers, insisting
that there would be an early end date to the transition period, during which Britain plans to negotiate the details of a trade deal with the European Union, something widely expected to take several years.
Our economy needs all options to be left on the table - transition, customs union, EEA EFTA, the works... oh,
and a vote of Parliament...https://t.co/dcipIlOjHw Since losing her parliamentary majority in an election last June, Mrs. May has often played for time, refusing to reveal detailed objectives to her European interlocutors as she balances demands from competing factions within her party.
That objective remains the crucial dividing line as Mrs. May has to balance the demands of those who want a clean break with the bloc, like the extroverted Foreign Secretary
Boris Johnson, against the preference others like the more cautious chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, who want to retain close ties to protect Britain’s economy.