The losing game

Iraq, the financial crisis, the expenses scandal — all of these undermined trust in politicians. They created an impression of a governing class that was devious, inept and venal. But the damage they did to public faith in politics is nothing compared with the damage that will be done by a failure to deliver Brexit.

Brexit is the result not just of a referendum but of two general elections. The Tories would not have won a majority in 2015 without their pledge to hold a referendum on Britain’s EU membership. In 2017, Labour wouldn’t have been able to deny the Tories a majority if they had not been committed to respecting the result of that referendum.

Yet Brexit is now in danger of being cancelled altogether. MPs would vote to revoke Article 50 completely if they believed that the alternative was no deal — so if you don’t want that to happen, a way forward has to be found. This was the case that Michael Gove made in the seven-hour cabinet meeting. Tellingly, there was virtually no pushback to his analysis.

So the government ended up talking to Jeremy Corbyn before a mad scramble to try and get the House of Commons to support something that May can take to the European Council next week to justify asking for another extension.

Brexit has already been delayed once. But as if this humiliation was not enough, the government will now ask for another extension at next week’s emergency meeting of the EU Council. For the second time in three weeks, the UK’s immediate future will be decided in Brussels. It will be the EU which decides what kind of extension to grant and any of the 27 EU member states could block it, effectively forcing this country out without a deal. But despite EU leaders emphasising how they are losing patience with this country, they are unlikely to take such a dramatic step.