May was supposed to consult with her ministers and with party leaders and come back with a new plan. She deftly sidestepped the Commons, however, by revealing Jan. 21 that her plan B was to try plan A again. So her deal lives on, and it still includes the controversial Irish backstop, a provision that would keep the U.K. closely aligned with the EU in the likely event that their future relationship doesn’t obviate the need for a border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. But May’s deal is no closer to passage, and with only 60 days to go until March 29, when the U.K. is to leave the European Union, it would probably be impossible to pass the relevant legislation without delaying the departure date by at least a couple of months. What started two and a half years ago as a binary choice between leave or remain is increasingly looking binary again. This time, it’s between no deal and no Brexit.

posted 1912 days ago