Brexit struggles in 2018 leave 'no deal' cliff-edge on the horizon
- 5 years ago
2018 was the year that Britain was finally going to hash out details of its plan to leave the European Union, but those efforts have not gone smoothly.
Continuing our series on the top ten world news stories of 2018, Kwon Jang-ho looks back at how far, or how little , Brexit has come over the last year.
"Most people just want the government to get on and deliver a good Brexit"
That was British Prime Minister Theresa May's New Year's Day message at the start of 2018, but 12 months later, it's still not clear whether the UK is any closer to that "good Brexit."
Months of debates and political wrangling, during which one foreign secretary, two Brexit secretaries, and six other government ministers quit over Brexit, finally came to a head at the end of the year, after May presented a withdrawal deal to the European Union in November.
The draft satisfied EU leaders, with German chancellor Angela Merkel even describing it as a "diplomatic piece of art."
But back home it was a completely different story.
A House of Commons vote in December on the withdrawal agreement was called off, after it became clear that an embarrassing majority of MPs would have voted against it.
May suffered another crisis a day later, when rebel members from her own party called for a vote of no-confidence.
She survived, but her reputation was in tatters.
The main point of contention is the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
There is so far no solution that will satisfy all parties, and with the Brexit deadline of March 29th fast approaching, the possibility of a 'no-deal' Brexit is rising, which could cause chaos for cross-border trade and travel.
The European Court of Justice offered up another way out in December, after ruling that the UK has the right to revoke its decision to leave the EU.
But Downing Street has ruled out a second referendum, and crucially the leader of the opposition Labour party, Jeremy Corbyn, a Euro-sceptic himself, has also been reluctant to go down that path.
Other possibilities such as a delayed Brexit or a general election still exist,... but there is only one thing for certain: Theresa May will not be Prime Minister after May 2022, after she confirmed she would not run again in a general election.
"Yes I've said that, you know, in my heart I would love to be able to lead the Conservative party into the next general election, but I think it is right that the party feels that it would prefer to go into that election with a new leader. Thank you."
Kwon Jang-ho, Arirang News.
Continuing our series on the top ten world news stories of 2018, Kwon Jang-ho looks back at how far, or how little , Brexit has come over the last year.
"Most people just want the government to get on and deliver a good Brexit"
That was British Prime Minister Theresa May's New Year's Day message at the start of 2018, but 12 months later, it's still not clear whether the UK is any closer to that "good Brexit."
Months of debates and political wrangling, during which one foreign secretary, two Brexit secretaries, and six other government ministers quit over Brexit, finally came to a head at the end of the year, after May presented a withdrawal deal to the European Union in November.
The draft satisfied EU leaders, with German chancellor Angela Merkel even describing it as a "diplomatic piece of art."
But back home it was a completely different story.
A House of Commons vote in December on the withdrawal agreement was called off, after it became clear that an embarrassing majority of MPs would have voted against it.
May suffered another crisis a day later, when rebel members from her own party called for a vote of no-confidence.
She survived, but her reputation was in tatters.
The main point of contention is the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
There is so far no solution that will satisfy all parties, and with the Brexit deadline of March 29th fast approaching, the possibility of a 'no-deal' Brexit is rising, which could cause chaos for cross-border trade and travel.
The European Court of Justice offered up another way out in December, after ruling that the UK has the right to revoke its decision to leave the EU.
But Downing Street has ruled out a second referendum, and crucially the leader of the opposition Labour party, Jeremy Corbyn, a Euro-sceptic himself, has also been reluctant to go down that path.
Other possibilities such as a delayed Brexit or a general election still exist,... but there is only one thing for certain: Theresa May will not be Prime Minister after May 2022, after she confirmed she would not run again in a general election.
"Yes I've said that, you know, in my heart I would love to be able to lead the Conservative party into the next general election, but I think it is right that the party feels that it would prefer to go into that election with a new leader. Thank you."
Kwon Jang-ho, Arirang News.