UK’s Sky News TV and others see the nearly two-year-old Brexit as a matter that has deeply divided the United Kingdom. And after the latest events, the split between people in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales now is, if anything, worse.
December Non-Event
The UK parliamentary vote expected on December 11th did not take place.
The media explained that the vote to ratify the deal reached between the EU and the UK was delayed because sure defeat had been predicted. Prime Minister Theresa May hoped an extension to mid-January would provide the time needed to induce more members of parliament to approve the deal.
Go or Stay?
Those who are in favor of leaving the European Union, called the Brexiteers, or the Leavers, predict horrible consequences if the EU-UK deal is not approved. At the same time, people who want to stay, the Remainders, predict dire things will happen but only if the UK leaves.
Remainders have been pushing hard for a second referendum vote on whether to exit the EU. As 2018 ended, some felt they were making real progress toward achieving that goal.
Backstop
For Brexiteers, a big sticking point has been what to do about the border between Northern Ireland, a part of the UK, and Southern Ireland, a member of the EU. The possibility of a hard crash, meaning an unratified deal, and need for a “backstop” of some sort were increasingly considered as the mid-January vote neared.
BBC in a December 13, 2018 article titled, Q&A: The Irish border Brexit backstop, defined the term for people not familiar with it.
“The backstop is a position of last resort, to maintain an open border on the island of Ireland in the event that the UK leaves the EU without securing an all-encompassing deal.”
Another informative BBC article, written on December 17, 2018, is titled, Brexit: All you need to know about the UK leaving the EU.
Brexit or Brake-it Part One was published on November 29. 2018.
The Outlook
Parliament’s crucial vote has been scheduled for Tuesday January 15, 2019. If the deal is not ratified, new general elections or other rumored moves won’t be far behind. However, no matter what transpires in the weeks after the decision, it will not alter the overall reality of what’s ahead for the British Isles and for others.
The Bible foretold the British people’s rise and fall and the reason for it. Read Brian Orchard’s January 11, 2019 Blog to see how the present situation in the UK fits with biblical prophecies.
Photo Credits: Brexit Graphic, License: CC Zero; Brexiteers by David Holt, License: CC BY 2.0; Irish Sinn Féin photo, License: CC BY 2.0; Empire Map, License: CC Zero.
