The big Brexit story today is that May will not delay next Tuesday's vote in parliament. Ministers in May's government are panicked that the withdrawal agreement will be defeated by a 100-vote margin. They were lobbying for a delay because that significant a defeat would almost certainly lead to the collapse of the government.
Yves Smith is starting to row back the "likely scenario"of May losing next week's vote by a margin small enough to allow the prime minister one more trip to Brussels for more ceremonial haggling. Now Smith is almost at the point of adopting May's talking points: It's crash-out or the Brexit withdrawal agreement on the table. Take your pick.
My sense is that the publication of the government's legal advice -- that Northern Ireland would be, for all intents and purposes, separated from the United Kingdom in perpetuity -- means the DUP can longer support May. The government should fall next week. That's the obvious conclusion. If this does not happen it means that British democracy is even more dysfunctional than democracy in the United States. And that is not the case. So mark your calendar. Finally, May's coalition government, after a year-and-a-half in power, comes down.
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