British Deal With European Union Shatters Illusions of Pro
Theresa May
One quick way to understand the agreement British Prime Minister Theresa May struck with the European Union on Friday â which effectively guarantees that the United Kingdomâs exit from the trading bloc will change so little that there will be no need to police its new border with the EU in Ireland â is to look at how very unhappy it has made pro-Brexit extremists.
Farage  Banks  and other âBrexiteersâ have spent months talking up the prospects of a free trade deal with the United States as a replacement for EU membership. But  as Irelandâs leader Leo Varadkar pointed out  by committing the U.K. to keeping its trade standards in line with the EU   May  had made  it  nearly impossible to strike free trade agreements (so-called FTAs) with nations like the U.S.  which have more lax health and safety regulations.
Congratulations to  Theresa May  for agreeing to absolutely everything the EU requested from the start but taking 8 months of potential trade negotiating time to do it â Matt Zarb-Cousin (@mattzarb) December 8  2017
 Theresa May  has basically just scrolled straight to the end of the document and ticked the box saying  she  has read the Brexit Terms and Conditions. â John O'Farrell (@mrjohnofarrell) December 8  2017
May  who voted against Brexit in last yearâs referendum  now faces the tricky task of holding on to the support of the so-called Brextremists in  her  Conservative party during the final phase of trade negotiations that could result in the U.K. leaving the EU but getting a form of associate membership  like that enjoyed by Norway or Switzerland. Since  she  took office after the referendum   May  appears to have kept the peace in  her  divided party by stringently refusing to propose any concrete plans for what kind of deal  she  is hoping to strike with the E.U. The fact that  her  party has been avoiding hard conversations  intent on satisfying the narrow majority of Britons who voted to leave the EU without having ever developed an actual plan for how to protect its economy after Brexit  was reinforced on Wednesday when two senior ministers admitted as much in testimony to parliamentary committees. David Davis  who leads the newly created ministry for Exiting the European Union  was asked to provide details on the dozens of impact assessments he previously said his department had produced to determine how leaving the EU would affect up to 57 sectors of the British economy. To the surprise of many observers  Davis  who had previously described the studies as going into âexcruciating detail â suddenly admitted that no such papers existed.
One quick way to understand the agreement British Prime Minister  [TGT]  struck with the European Union on Friday â which effectively guarantees that the United Kingdomâs exit from the trading bloc will change so little that there will be no need to police its new border with the EU in Ireland â is to look at how very unhappy it has made pro-Brexit extremists.
Farage  Banks  and other âBrexiteersâ have spent months talking up the prospects of a free trade deal with the United States as a replacement for EU membership. But  as Irelandâs leader Leo Varadkar pointed out  by committing the U.K. to keeping its trade standards in line with the EU   May  had made  it  nearly impossible to strike free trade agreements (so-called FTAs) with nations like the U.S.  which have more lax health and safety regulations.
Congratulations to   [TGT]   for agreeing to absolutely everything the EU requested from the start but taking 8 months of potential trade negotiating time to do it â Matt Zarb-Cousin (@mattzarb) December 8  2017
  [TGT]   has basically just scrolled straight to the end of the document and ticked the box saying  she  has read the Brexit Terms and Conditions. â John O'Farrell (@mrjohnofarrell) December 8  2017
May  who voted against Brexit in last yearâs referendum  now faces the tricky task of holding on to the support of the so-called Brextremists in  her  Conservative party during the final phase of trade negotiations that could result in the U.K. leaving the EU but getting a form of associate membership  like that enjoyed by Norway or Switzerland. Since  she  took office after the referendum   May  appears to have kept the peace in  her  divided party by stringently refusing to propose any concrete plans for what kind of deal  she  is hoping to strike with the E.U. The fact that  her  party has been avoiding hard conversations  intent on satisfying the narrow majority of Britons who voted to leave the EU without having ever developed an actual plan for how to protect its economy after Brexit  was reinforced on Wednesday when two senior ministers admitted as much in testimony to parliamentary committees. David Davis  who leads the newly created ministry for Exiting the European Union  was asked to provide details on the dozens of impact assessments he previously said his department had produced to determine how leaving the EU would affect up to 57 sectors of the British economy. To the surprise of many observers  Davis  who had previously described the studies as going into âexcruciating detail â suddenly admitted that no such papers existed.