The Brexit endgame

At the end this week, May will lead her crack(ed) team of ministers to Chequers for a no-sleep sleepover at the end of which the Brexit White Paper, or what Brexit really means in the views of May.

Also on Friday, Barnier is scheduled to make a speech, which one would imagine he will reject what the Cabinet are discussing, both options, before the Cabinet has chosen one.

May has a brilliant idea, in translating its position paper into every European language and send them to the capitals of the EU27 hoping to bypass Barnier. Thus forgetting that Barnier was selected by the EU27 to negotiate on their behalf, and the EU27 set his terms of reference, they meet with him regularly to receive updates and see if change is needed.

Of course, those translated papers might be great; worked on by a crack team of translators, to ensure that the foibles of translation are smoothed over. Or, more likely, the Cabinet will feed the paper into Google Translate and end what is chewed and spat out the other side. This would be a very poor course of action, but no worse than the Brexiteers and May's Brexit path thus far.

Meanwhile the MP for the 18th century, JRM is pressing for May to keep her promises on Brexit, more on those in a minute, other the ERG will bring the Government down. Very sensible.

I don't expect May to last until the end of next week, but then I've said that before, but if she does fall, the Conservative (and Unionist) Party would have to choose a new leader, and a Brexit policy to carry forward into the election.

Labour would also have to choose a Brexit stance as well, but without an election, it seems impossible to see how any kind of Brexit could be passed by the HoC let alone the HoL. So, an elections seems the only way. Which would, if both the main parties pick say, one for a Canada style Brexit, the other a Norway style deal and the Lib Dems stand behind the Stay in the EU, then the election would be a second referendum. Of sorts.

But in order for that to be effective, the truth about the choices would need to be said, what each options would mean, and cost for the UK economy and jobs. But why stop lying now?

May is fighting her party for a soft Brexit, and Corbyn is fighting his party for a hard Brexit.

There you have it.

Would JRM as Conservative Party leader unite or divide? Of course the major mistake of May was to call an election a few weeks into the Brexit process in which she asked the country to unite behind her "vision" of Brexit to strengthen her hand, but ended up with a minority government propped up by the DUP. In normal times, such a near defeat would have resulted in a change of course by the PM, but instead she pressed in harder.

May's promise from Autumn 2016 of an economically smooth Brexit is now undeliverable, and that should now be said and admitted too. All that's left now are bad choices, choices between painful and fucking painful. Or stop the madness now. But the madness will never stop.

Reality is nearly here, and it is time for all, May, JRM, DD, Fox, Gove, Boris, Corbyn, the British people, the press, to look it in the eye and say it for what it is.