BREXIT Where Next?

There are no shortcuts when it comes to Brexit. While the British government will get its way in the end, it has created a mess in Europe. In pursuing a hard Brexit supported by harsh rhetoric, it has taken liberties with the referendum result and contradicted the 2015 Conservative Party election manifesto, which came out in favor of the U.K. remaining in the EU single market. It has backed Brexit in the name of parliamentary sovereignty, while at the same time trying to refuse or diminish parliament’s role in the process. The Supreme Court has now effectively said Prime Minister Theresa May cannot have her cake and eat it. As Nick Clegg, the former deputy prime minister, told a Brussels audience Tuesday: “The only thing I’m sure of is that Brexit is not going to happen the way Theresa May outlined in her speech.”