May fails with plan for customs union
The majority of British MPs voted against May's plan for a customs union, letting the premier know that she should only come back when she has a better idea. The plan was May's attempt at avoiding a hard Irish border. With the Brexit less than a year away, commentators are getting impatient.
Could it be more embarrassing?
For the Süddeutsche Zeitung the ministers' rebuff is just another symptom of the chaos of the British government's Brexit policy:
“Two years after the Brexit referendum and one year after the start of the exit talks there are still no clear plans about trade relations with the EU. Or what could replace the customs union and the domestic market. ... Which means the Ireland question remains unsolved. And the British public are once again left to watch incredulously as their government stumbles about clueless and divided in a Brexit whose shape and implementation is still up in the air. ... The only ones showing any sign of hope these days are the all-out Brexit haters. They hope that the whole thing will collapse under Britain's sheer irreconcilability and incompetence.”
Time to throw off the chains
Neither a customs partnership nor sticking to the customs union are in Britain's interest, The Daily Telegraph insists:
“Fundamentally, the red line for any future relationship with the EU is that it guarantees the right of Britain to pursue an independent trading policy. Neither a customs partnership or sticking to the Customs Union would achieve this, therefore the Government must mobilise against them. But it must also explain its reasoning – and thus turn the tables on the Remainers. What do they want? To chain Britain to the EU in perpetuity? To overturn the referendum result? Neither would be very popular with the voters.”