Is a Gerneral Election the only way to break the Brexit gridlock?

Today MPs voted to extend the Brexit deadline but also voted (by about 80%) not to have a second referendum. May has pretended to offer labour MPs a deal and offered almost nothing, gone back to Brussels to renegotiate what couldn't be renegotiated and failed. Tory MPs voted to have a leadership contest but then voted to (more or less) keep her in place.

Its a PM with no authority, leading a party with no majority trying to deal with a complex historically important issue which nobody in the country can agree on. We can't extend the deadline forever and something has to give. I think eventually there will be some kind of Brexit but not a hard Brexit and nobody will be happy.

The twin truths are that the referendum voted to leave the EU and that there is no mandate to change that. Also that Brexit is more complex than anyone imagined and that it can't deliver what it promised.

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MartinII · 70-79, M

Strictly speaking the Commons voted to ask the EU’s permission to extend the Brexit deadline, which might not be granted, but that’s a pedantic point.

I agree with you that there should be a general election. The government has tried, cackhandedly, to do what the referendum asked it to do, and Parliament has, so far, frustrated that attempt. So the electorate should be given the opportunity to replace the present Parliament with a better one. Whether that would, in practice, break the deadlock is of course another matter.

Burnley123 · 41-45, M

@MartinII Yes, that is a good point. It could well lead to more gridlock. The only clear way out would be if there was a big majority for Labour or Conservative. I can't see that happening. Yes, the Tories are ahead in the polls but they are at the ceiling and I would expect the independents to lose some of their support back to Labour. The Lib Dems are in no fit shape to have a comeback and with Cable resigning, they don't even have a leader. I can't see Labour winning a big majority either though.

MartinII · 70-79, M

@Burnley123 Also, so much would dependson what each major party said about Brexit in its manifesto, and how many of their candidates agreed to be bound by that.

Burnley123 · 41-45, M

@MartinII Both parties are really divided on this for different reasons.

Platinum · M

@MartinII who would you vote for in this election you want

Burnley123 · 41-45, M

@Platinum I'm a corbyn supporting labour party member. And proud of if. 😘

Platinum · M

After saying brexit would damage this country, you want Corbyn who will take this country back to the Stone Age ...he is the worse politician in Parliment and Abbott and McDonnell make up the three stooges....

Burnley123 · 41-45, M

@Platinum I knew you'd be a Tory. No surprises there.

Platinum · M

@Burnley123 I'm not a Tory , you are wrong about most things...

MartinII · 70-79, M

It would depend, in the first place, on what they proposed to do about Brexit, and whether they were likely to be able to do it.@Platinum

Platinum · M

Would you believe any of them...@MartinII

Platinum · M

@MartinII both big parties said they would implement brexit and have gone back on their word, who could we trust...

MartinII · 70-79, M

@Platinum Well, to be fair, the government has tried to implement Brexit (not very well, obviously) but has been frustrated by a combination of the opposition and remainers in its own ranks. And the behaviour of the ERG, justified as their arguments may be in substance, hasn’t helped.

Platinum · M

My own opinion is that since the referendum result most of them have worked together to stop us leaving and that includes May..why do you think they voted down another referendum vote when most of them wanted one it was in case the people still voted leave and then they would have found it hard to cancel it then.....@MartinII