The government’s intentions regarding Brexit are as opaque as they ever were, and there is growing frustration and anxiety in the community as well as exasperation in the business world. In Parliament this week the prime minister refused to disclose any information that might relieve that alarm, so there is no way of telling whether her efforts to find a way out of the labyrinth she has constructed stand any chance of success. Ordinary people who do not usually pay much attention to the minutiae of politics are beginning to feel a little frightened. Brexit is beginning to move from the head to the heart, and not in a good way.
In such a situation public opinion is likely to become volatile and unpredictable. As the pain grows, so will the clamour for anything that will reduce it. Theresa May says her strategy is to satisfy the demand of the House of Commons for an alternative to the proposed backstop, which would keep Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic from having to erect a visible border between them.
14 February 2019, The Tablet
Mrs May is dragging her heels
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