What the commentators said
When you’ve seen May telling a crowd of jubilant Tory delegates that she’ll lead them out of the EU, said Rafael Behr in The Guardian, “it is very hard to imagine how David Cameron could ever have stood before the same people to say the opposite”. Her speech sent “ripples of ecstasy” around the conference hall. “This is nothing less than a reformation in the Church of Conservatism, with the authority of Brussels cast as a modern-day Rome.” The message to Remain voters is clear: “you are free to pray for whatever you like. Your antique rites will be tolerated. But do not expect your concerns to be represented in the court of Queen Theresa.”
One big advantage enjoyed by May, said Gideon Rachman in the FT, is that she comes across as “serious and responsible”. But don’t be fooled. Her announcement that she’ll start formal Brexit negotiations by March next year is a “reckless” error. The chances of the UK negotiating the terms of its divorce and agreeing a satisfactory new trade deal with the EU within the twoyear window specified by Article 50 are unlikely enough as it is. But by setting this deadline, before securing any assurances, May “has given away what little leverage Britain has”. On the contrary, said William Hague in The Daily Telegraph, the PM got this decision “absolutely right”. It has brought some clarity to proceedings. Waiting longer to trigger Article 50 would open up the “ludicrous prospect” of us having to elect MEPS in the spring of 2019, despite being about to leave the bloc. Besides, since EU leaders have refused to engage in detailed discussions until Article 50 is invoked, we had nothing to gain from putting off this decision.
The repeal bill and the triggering of Article 50 represent just the first procedural moves in an epic undertaking, said Stephen Bush in the New Statesman. Extracting Britain from the EU will involve all manner of things having to be renegotiated and rethought, from trade deals and “custody rights (currently guaranteed by the EU)”, to research funding. May turned 60 last weekend. “It is highly likely that, when she celebrates her 80th birthday, Britain’s exit from the European Union will still be going on.”