Moderates in the Conservative Party face a particularly excruciating dilemma. They know that the tide of sentiment among activists in their party is strongly pro-Brexit, so a determined push to stop a no-deal Brexit could end their careers. They have the disquieting example of one of their own, Nick Boles, who is facing deselection, which would prevent him from seeking re-election as a Tory, for having offered an amendment ruling out a no-deal Brexit.
However, they also agree with more liberal lawmakers that leaving the bloc without a deal would be so damaging to the country and their party that opposing a no-deal Brexit, or compromising with the Labour Party, is the only responsible course of action.
Within the Conservative Party this rift is likely to come to a head on Feb. 27, when Parliament is expected to make another attempt to take control of the process, in the absence of a Brexit deal. If by then Mrs. May has failed to secure a revised deal with the European Union, several ministers are threatening to resign in order to rebel.
So far there is little sign of progress in Mrs. May’s talks in Brussels.
In an interview with the Spanish newspaper El País, the Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, warned Britain that the balance of power in the negotiation was not in its favor, arguing that the country was “on the wane compared to two or three years ago,” was going to become “a middling economy stuck in the Atlantic Ocean,” and “too small to appear on the world stage on its own.”
Pro-Europeans fret that Mrs. May intends to string them along, and postpone a final vote until the week before Britain’s departure, hoping that the pressure of the deadlock will force them to buckle and support her plan.
That risk has exposed a fault line within the Labour Party over policy toward a second referendum. Since Labour has failed to secure the general election it wants as its top priority, its pro-European lawmakers now want it to shift into endorsing the people’s vote.
That idea is popular among party members but has been resisted by Mr. Corbyn, a lifelong critic of the European Union, and is opposed by lawmakers in some Leave-voting areas.
Source : Nytimes
