After accepting a second delay to Britain’s departure from the European Union, Prime Minister Theresa May braced on Thursday for a backlash from hard-line supporters of withdrawal and scorn from her political opponents after yet another retreat. While there was some of both in Parliament, lawmakers mainly reacted with relief and resignation to the latest episode of can-kicking that saw the deadline for the process known as Brexit pushed back to October 31 from Friday. One hard-line pro-Brexit Conservative, Bill Cash, demanded that Mrs. May stand aside because of “her abject surrender.” But another Conservative lawmaker, Charles Walker, caught the mood of the moment when he urged Mrs. May to take some time off, and said that Julian Smith, the chief whip in charge of party discipline, should get some sleep, too. For a fractious and exhausted British Parliament, the best news was that, after weeks of constant pressure and late-night votes, there will be an Easter vacation without the risk of a departure without a withdrawal deal. That will provide an opportunity to escape a hothouse in Parliament, where tempers have frayed as lawmakers face growing political and even mental strain.

Source: New York Times April 11, 2019 17:48 UTC