Mrs May must clarify where she stands
Theresa May chaired a meeting of the Cabinet yesterday where the main item under discussion was terrorism. This threat requires constant vigilance to ensure lessons are learned from the atrocities that have been perpetrated in Britain this year. In particular, the intelligence failures that allowed three terrorists known to MI5 to slip through the net, including the Manchester Arena bomber, Salman Abedi, need to be addressed.
While this important matter required discussion, it might have been expected that the Brexit negotiations would be high on the agenda. But they were mentioned only towards the end of the meeting in order for the Prime Minister to confirm what her colleagues already knew, that a hoped-for agreement in Brussels to move to the next stage of the talks was stymied by the DUP. She was hopeful that this obstacle would be overcome and the logjam in the negotiations unblocked before the December 14 summit of EU leaders.
What is noticeable about this whole process is how little the full Cabinet has been involved in the discussions. Most of the work is carried out by a sub-committee and a larger gathering is only occasionally summoned, as before the Florence speech in September. For a Prime Minister who promised a return of Cabinet government this is an odd approach. Given the magnitude of the decision facing the country, Mrs May should be seeking advice and counsel from a wider group than a small cadre of ministers and No 10 officials. Something went horribly wrong for the Prime Minister to go to Brussels in the full expectation of announcing an agreement only to suffer the indignity of returning home empty-handed.
Mrs May’s political difficulties are obvious. Her Cabinet and party are divided, as is the country, over the sort of Brexit it would be in the national interest to obtain. She has no majority in the Commons, which the DUP has spectacularly exposed. Meanwhile, Labour flip-flops on its Brexit policy almost daily to exploit her vulnerability.
Most of all, her problems stem from the fact that it is no longer apparent what it is the Prime Minister is trying to achieve and whether the “red lines” for leaving the single market and customs union still apply. She urgently needs to clarify her approach and work with those who can deliver it. If that means a breach with Tory Brexiteers, at least they will know where they stand.