Judging by the furore, Mrs May's Brexit deal is going to have a tough time getting through Parliament.
Although it was approved at a meeting of the lengthy Cabinet yesterday, the deal cobbled together between Mrs May's lieutenants and representatives of the European Union seems to be on very shaky ground. It's clear that some members of the Cabinet, perhaps as many as 9 or 10, were very unhappy and that the agreement was 'collective' rather than unanimous or even enthusiastic. Arlene Foster of the Democratic Unionists has indicated that her party is unlikely to find the deal acceptable, the Scottish Nationalists have always been clear that they will vote against anything that's put forward and the Labour Party is also plainly opposed for its own political reasons as well as anything else. Given that a significant number of Conservatives, both Brexiteers and Remainers, have indicated that they are likely to vote against the proposals, the chances of the Prime Minister's plan being approved by Parliament seem to be vanishingly small.
That said, politics is a pretty strange game and anything is still possible. The DUP may be cajoled into supporting the plan in order to avoid the spectre of a general election and a Jeremy Corbyn-led government; the Conservative opponents likewise, and there are still a few on the Labour benches who have independent minds and may well vote with Mrs May, also as much to avoid Corbyn gaining power as being in favour of Conservative proposals. All of this also ignores the possibility that any one of the remaining 27 member states of the European Union could decide to reject the deal when it's put to them at a meeting on 25th November.
Where will it all end ?
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