Jonathan Lis writes:

A run on the pound was once the kind of event that troubled a prime minister. If it was shown to be the direct result of a policy the prime minister refused to change, it might even have unseated them. No longer. Now a Conservative government’s central policy will not just crash the pound, but also end Britain’s manufacturing and agriculture overnight and block half the country’s transportation of food and medicines – and it shows no shame whatsoever.

Extraordinary and radical times demand a similar response. It may no longer be sufficient for parliament to tinker around the edges with Brexit. Because the no-deal trajectory is both real and unthinkable, politicians may finally decide it is time to challenge key orthodoxies. Brexit, in its current form, is not the will of the people – and it can be stopped. The outright revocation of article 50 is looking more likely, and more justified, than ever.

Revocation has, understandably, been considered Brexit’s nuclear button. Remainers in parliament have been unwilling to vote for it or even discuss it. But it may prove the only way to stop the catastrophe of no deal. [Continue reading…]