UK PM Brought Shame on Herself, Party & Country – Commentator on Brexit Fiasco

In a bid to avoid what she perceives to be a disastrous no-deal Brexit, Theresa May will engage in new talks with the Labour Party, as she desperately tries to find a plan that would convict the EU to delay the UK’s departure from the bloc.

But wouldn't this time be better spent in accepting defeat and preparing for a departure under WTO terms? Sputnik spoke with political commentator Pete Durnell for more. 

Sputnik: Would delaying Brexit any further be a waste of time and is the EU likely to accept a further extension to article fifty? 

Pete Durnell: I think it's a real balancing act for the EU they have on the one hand the fact that potentially that we are going to return dozens of Eurosceptic MEPs, who are going to be the leaders and the cheerleaders of a lot more Eurosceptic MEPs from across the EU, so they've got that which I think they really don't want.

On the other hand, they, of course, have a massive potential hole in their budget if they have no deal, our net contribution of thirteen or fourteen billion per year will go down very nicely, and in the end money talks so I would say almost certainly that they would give us an extra year, simply because they need the cash.

If you want to try to cancel Brexit, or water it down to a Brexit in name only then an extra year is an ideal way to do it, it gives you all the chance to do that. From a leavers perspective, it achieves absolutely nothing except giving an opportunity to remainers to further undermine the vote, have another chance to overturn it and turn leave into remain, which is essentially what they are trying to do.

READ MORE: Tory Lawmakers Plan Mass Resignation if Brexit Delayed for Too Long — Reports

Sputnik: Would leaving with no deal and departing under WTO rules be the best option for the UK?

Pete Durnell: I personally think absolutely it would be. Businesses absolutely hate uncertainty so another year of are we going to have a customs union? What's the deal going to look like? Are we going to leave? Are we not? They really don't need that.

Under WTO rules yes there would be some teething problems, but both sides are going to want to sort it out quickly, and I think when you've got that will behind it, when there's a will there's a way, and we will sort it out.

We would obviously save that thirty-nine billion pounds, or at least the vast majority of it that we're going to hand them for effectively nothing at the moment, and bear in mind the Gatt Article Twenty four, which is essentially where we continue on the same terms, tariff-free trade as we do at the moment for a reasonable period, whilst we agree a free trade deal with the EU.

READ MORE: May Says Brexit Choice Narrowed to Leaving EU With Deal or Remaining in Bloc

The EU would have to agree to that, but if they didn't; then we actually run a huge deficit with the EU, something like sixty-seven billion, so there's going to be a big loser in that and it's not us, so I think absolutely we should go no deal.

Sputnik: How do you see British politics changing once the Brexit negotiation debacle is over?

Pete Durnell: Is it ever going to be over? I think the two main parties are going to suffer a real credibility problem for quite a long time to come, they've blatantly played games with Brexit using it as a political football, they've both reneged on their manifestos, but I do think the Conservatives will suffer more.

Essentially they have largely been in control, possibly not now, they've lied repeatedly and Theresa May has given her word on so many things that have then just not happened, she's used what appears to be blatant bullying and blackmail tactics, she's used bribery mixed in, and I just think that there's a great disgust to be honest with you, particularly amongst the leaver section of the public, about the way she's trying to force this deal through.

I feel she's brought shame on herself, but not just herself; she's brought it on her party and her country and everyone who lives in what we used to call a proud British nation, and I don't that that's going to be easily forgotten, in a few years' time it will be very much remembered, so that's why I see things changing really.

Views and opinions, expressed in the article are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect those of Sputnik.