(CN) – Nearly two years ago – on March 29, 2017 – British Prime Minister Theresa May signed the letter formally withdrawing Great Britain from the European Union. In doing so, she kicked off a two-year negotiating period to define the terms of the historic divorce.
In signing that letter, May, a Conservative, set March 29, 2019, as Brexit day – the day Britain was meant to leave the EU. That day is only 10 days away now.
Back then, on a mild-weathered Wednesday in 2017, conservative newspapers cheered. The Daily Mail, a tabloid, ran with “Freedom!” on its front page and showed a cheerful May signing the divorce letter.
Liberal newspapers, though, painted a very different picture. The front page of the Guardian was consumed by a jigsaw puzzle of a map of Europe, but with Great Britain's pieces missing and in their place a headline read: “Today Britain steps into the unknown.”
Two years later, the reality of Brexit is both very different and very similar to what it was two years ago. Indeed, many in Britain describe feeling trapped in a version of “Groundhog Day” with Brexit arguments, speeches, news, rallies and political twists seemingly repeating over and over again with no resolution.
Now, with Brexit day fast approaching, the front pages of Britain's newspapers simmer with the foul mood of a nation riven by Brexit anxieties, divisions and anger. Tuesday was a good example.
“A Major Constitutional Crisis,” screamed the Daily Telegraph, a conservative newspaper. “Brexit Chaos,” shouted the Guardian. “The Brexit Destroyer” and “B*ll*cks to Bercow” ran headlines atop the front pages of right-wing tabloids, the Daily Express and the Sun.
All these headlines were referring to the latest twist in the politics of Brexit – and this drama is scripted with classic British themes: It involves a parliamentary rule dating to 1604, the year Shakespeare's “Othello” premiered, the concept of legal precedence, the balance of power between Parliament and Her Majesty's Government, and a colorful, witty personality named John Bercow, the speaker of the House of Commons.
He's the one in the boisterous Commons who wears a black robe and sits in a throne between the two sets of opposing benches thronged by archenemies who shout at and taunt each other. It's his job to referee the arcane proceedings, shouting “Order! Order!” when the famously riotous chamber gets out of hand and loses its pretense to gentility.
On Monday, Bercow invoked a long-standing parliamentary convention dating to 1604 that forbids a motion being presented to Parliament more than once. The rule is meant to stop a government from forcing, or bullying, an unwilling Parliament into accepting a law.
His ruling threw into disarray May's last-ditch strategy to do just that and force Parliament into accepting a divorce deal her government spent the past two years negotiating with the EU. She's found Parliament deadlocked over the deal, with many on the right alleging it will keep Britain, in essence, remaining an EU member while also removing Britain's say in EU affairs.
In January and again last week, May presented her EU withdrawal agreement to Parliament. Both times, it was defeated by overwhelming majorities. The loss in January was the worst parliamentary defeat for any standing British government.
Despite the defeats, May was planning to go back to Parliament for a third, and possibly a fourth, time to see if she could get her deal passed before the March 29 deadline.
She's been putting pressure on parliamentarians to vote for her deal or face the consequences. Chief among her threats is a warning that Brexit itself may never happen unless her deal is approved. She's also in talks with hard-line Brexit politicians, reportedly sweetening the deal with promises.