Backstop or no deal? Parliament to vote
This Tuesday evening the British parliament will vote on amendments to the Brexit deal negotiated by May and the EU which it rejected around two weeks ago. The main points are the removal of the "backstop" and a postponement of the EU exit date to avoid a no-deal Brexit. Journalists show little understanding for the impasse.
Real losers not sitting in parliament
Insisting on a hard Brexit if push comes to shove is a dangerous game of who blinks first, the Financial Times warns:
“If necessary The Brexit ultras may have a point when they say the EU will blink at the last minute over the hated backstop to prevent a hard border in Ireland if it really believes no deal is looming. There is, after all, little purpose in insisting on the backstop if doing so brings into reality the one thing it is designed to avoid. ... But while MPs flounder and face-off, the real losers are outside Westminster, where the public is already turning its mind to stockpiling and to the job losses threatened by businesses that are accelerating the transfer from the UK.”
Don't destroy Good Friday Agreement
British MPs must use their vote to prevent a no-deal Brexit, the Irish Independent urges:
“After two years agonising over every detail, for the whole process to be reduced to a reckless game of Russian roulette is reprehensible. Politics looks like it is failing the people. ... Our Government is prepared to see the Brexit deal reopened only if the UK stays in a customs union or agrees to special measures for the North to avoid a hard Border. We have little choice. The Good Friday Agreement was a milestone in achieving peace on these islands. History will judge harshly those who would seek to replace it with the millstone a no-deal Brexit would be.”