Opinion: Brexit’s delay just gives Britain more time to muck things up
By Sebastian Mallaby Sebastian Mallaby Email Bio Follow April 11 at 3:30 PM The big day was March 29. Then it was April 12. And now Europe’s powers have decreed that Britain has until Oct. 31 to decide how — or indeed whether — it would like to leave the European Union. At this rate, you may be thinking, Britain is never really going to quit. Unfortunately, the odds of a hard-line Brexit are probably increasing.
Theresa May, the dogged prime minister whose defenestration has been prematurely rumored for two years, now has one foot out the window. She will keep trying to strike a deal with the top brass in the Labour Party. But even if she appears to succeed, the chances of keeping Labour’s support through the marathon of implementing legislation seem minimal.
The prime minister might yet succeed in conjuring a breakthrough: The situation is so fluid that almost anything is possible. But if she fails, she will have both feet out the window. Her mission has been to deliver a moderate Brexit; if she cannot, her unloved leadership will serve no further purpose. Local elections on May 2 are likely to deliver a rebuke to her party, and on May 23 she faces a still-greater humiliation.
This is how things could get truly ugly. The Labour Party is led by professional placard carrier Jeremy Corbyn, who is anti-American, anti-capitalist and anti-European Union. Because the Labour rank and file is pro-Remain, a Labour victory might mean that Brexit is sidelined, despite Corbyn’s personal predilections. But this would be cold comfort. Labour’s leftist agenda would scare investment away from Britain as fast as the prospect of Brexit has done.
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