Brexit reflections: A bumpy ride down a long, winding road
FILE - In this Wednesday, March 29, 2017 file photo British Union flag waves in front of the Elizabeth Tower at Houses of Parliament containing the bell know as “Big Ben” in central London. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)
The Union flag is reflected in a puddle during an event called “Brussels calling” to celebrate the friendship between Belgium and Britain at the Grand Place in Brussels, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2020. The European Union grudgingly let go of the United Kingdom with a final vote Wednesday at the EU’s parliament that ended the Brexit divorce battle and set the scene for tough trade negotiations in the year ahead. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
FILE - In this Friday, June 24, 2016 file photo file photo a statue of Winston Churchill is silhouetted against the Houses of Parliament and the early morning sky in London, Friday, June 24, 2016. After 3½ years of wrangling and rancor, Britain is not so much leaving the EU in triumph as stumbling exhausted across the finish line, like a runner at the end of a marathon. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)
FILE - In this Friday, June 24, 2016 file photo Nigel Farage, the leader of the UK Independence Party speaks to the media on College Green with the Houses of Parliament in the background in London. After 3½ years of wrangling and rancor, Britain is not so much leaving the EU in triumph as stumbling exhausted across the finish line, like a runner at the end of a marathon. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)
FILE - In this Wednesday, July 13, 2016 file photo Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron, speaks to the media as his wife Samantha and their children Nancy, Florence and Elwen, from left, look on as they leave 10 Downing Street, in London. After 3½ years of wrangling and rancor, Britain is not so much leaving the EU in triumph as stumbling exhausted across the finish line, like a runner at the end of a marathon. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)
FILE - In this Tuesday March 28, 2017 file photo Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May, sitting below a painting of Britain’s first Prime Minister Robert Walpole, signs the official letter to European Council President Donald Tusk, in 10 Downing Street, London, invoking Article 50 of the bloc’s key treaty, the formal start of exit negotiations. (Christopher Furlong/Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE- In this Wednesday, March 29, 2017 file photo, EU Council President Donald Tusk holds British Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit letter in notice of the UK’s intention to leave the bloc under Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty at a press conference in Brussels. After 3½ years of wrangling and rancor, Britain is not so much leaving the EU in triumph as stumbling exhausted across the finish line, like a runner at the end of a marathon. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys, File)
FILE - In this Friday, Oct. 20, 2017 file photo British Prime Minister Theresa May waits for the arrival of European Council President Donald Tusk prior to a bilateral meeting with European Council President Donald Tusk during an EU summit in Brussels. After 3½ years of wrangling and rancor, Britain is not so much leaving the EU in triumph as stumbling exhausted across the finish line, like a runner at the end of a marathon. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert, Pool)
FILE - In this Monday, March 19, 2018 file photo European Union chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, right, gestures as he meets with British Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union David Davis at EU headquarters in Brussels. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, File)
FILE - In this Friday, Aug. 31, 2018 file photo Britain’s Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union Dominic Raab, left, and EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier prepare to shake hands after a media conference at EU headquarters in Brussels. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, File)
FILE - In this Thursday, Dec. 13, 2018 file photo British Prime Minister Theresa May, center, arrives for a round table meeting at an EU summit in Brussels. May told lawmakers Wednesday she is prepared to step down “earlier than I intended” in order to win passage of her Brexit divorce deal from the European Union. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)
FILE - In this Thursday, Aug. 22, 2019 file photo French President Emmanuel Macron, left, talks to Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson during their meeting at the Elysee Palace, in Paris. (Christophe Petit Tesson, Pool via AP, File)
FILE - In this Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019 file photo a person dressed as a caricature of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a prison uniform stands outside the Supreme Court in London after it made it’s decision on the legality of Johnson’s five-week suspension of Parliament. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, file)
FILE - In this Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019 file photo President Donald Trump meets with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the United Nations General Assembly, in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
FILE - In this Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2019 file photo European Union chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier attends the weekly EU College of Commissioners meeting at EU headquarters in Brussels. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, File)
FILE - In this Thursday, Oct. 17, 2019 file photo British Prime Minister Boris Johnson shakes hands with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker during a press point at EU headquarters in Brussels. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, File)
FILE - In this Thursday, Oct. 17, 2019 file photo British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, center, is greeted by Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, center left, during a round table meeting at an EU summit in Brussels. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)
FILE - In this Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019 file photo whippets wear clothing with the EU flag during anti-Brexit protests in London. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
FILE - In this Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019 file photo Anti-Brexit remain in the European Union supporters gather after taking part in a “People’s Vote” protest march calling for another referendum on Britain’s EU membership, in Parliament Square in London. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)
FILE - In this Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2019 file photo Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during an election campaign event for his ruling Conservative Party at the NEC, (National Exhibition Centre) in Birmingham, England. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)
FILE - In this Friday Dec. 13, 2019 file photo Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson is greeted by staff as he returns to 10 Downing Street, London, after meeting Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace and accepting her invitation to form a new government. After 3½ years of wrangling and rancor, Britain is not so much leaving the EU in triumph as stumbling exhausted across the finish line, like a runner at the end of a marathon. (Stefan Rousseau/PA via AP, File)
FILE - In this Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019 file photo a leave the European Union (EU) supporter, at right, holds a placard up in front of remain in the EU supporters protesting outside Downing Street in London. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)
FILE - In this Wednesday, March 29, 2017 file photo British Union flag waves in front of the Elizabeth Tower at Houses of Parliament containing the bell know as “Big Ben” in central London. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)
FILE - In this Wednesday, March 29, 2017 file photo British Union flag waves in front of the Elizabeth Tower at Houses of Parliament containing the bell know as “Big Ben” in central London. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)
The Union flag is reflected in a puddle during an event called “Brussels calling” to celebrate the friendship between Belgium and Britain at the Grand Place in Brussels, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2020. The European Union grudgingly let go of the United Kingdom with a final vote Wednesday at the EU’s parliament that ended the Brexit divorce battle and set the scene for tough trade negotiations in the year ahead. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
The Union flag is reflected in a puddle during an event called “Brussels calling” to celebrate the friendship between Belgium and Britain at the Grand Place in Brussels, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2020. The European Union grudgingly let go of the United Kingdom with a final vote Wednesday at the EU’s parliament that ended the Brexit divorce battle and set the scene for tough trade negotiations in the year ahead. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
FILE - In this Friday, June 24, 2016 file photo file photo a statue of Winston Churchill is silhouetted against the Houses of Parliament and the early morning sky in London, Friday, June 24, 2016. After 3½ years of wrangling and rancor, Britain is not so much leaving the EU in triumph as stumbling exhausted across the finish line, like a runner at the end of a marathon. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)
FILE - In this Friday, June 24, 2016 file photo file photo a statue of Winston Churchill is silhouetted against the Houses of Parliament and the early morning sky in London, Friday, June 24, 2016. After 3½ years of wrangling and rancor, Britain is not so much leaving the EU in triumph as stumbling exhausted across the finish line, like a runner at the end of a marathon. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)
FILE - In this Friday, June 24, 2016 file photo Nigel Farage, the leader of the UK Independence Party speaks to the media on College Green with the Houses of Parliament in the background in London. After 3½ years of wrangling and rancor, Britain is not so much leaving the EU in triumph as stumbling exhausted across the finish line, like a runner at the end of a marathon. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)
FILE - In this Friday, June 24, 2016 file photo Nigel Farage, the leader of the UK Independence Party speaks to the media on College Green with the Houses of Parliament in the background in London. After 3½ years of wrangling and rancor, Britain is not so much leaving the EU in triumph as stumbling exhausted across the finish line, like a runner at the end of a marathon. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)
FILE - In this Wednesday, July 13, 2016 file photo Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron, speaks to the media as his wife Samantha and their children Nancy, Florence and Elwen, from left, look on as they leave 10 Downing Street, in London. After 3½ years of wrangling and rancor, Britain is not so much leaving the EU in triumph as stumbling exhausted across the finish line, like a runner at the end of a marathon. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)
FILE - In this Wednesday, July 13, 2016 file photo Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron, speaks to the media as his wife Samantha and their children Nancy, Florence and Elwen, from left, look on as they leave 10 Downing Street, in London. After 3½ years of wrangling and rancor, Britain is not so much leaving the EU in triumph as stumbling exhausted across the finish line, like a runner at the end of a marathon. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)
FILE - In this Tuesday March 28, 2017 file photo Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May, sitting below a painting of Britain’s first Prime Minister Robert Walpole, signs the official letter to European Council President Donald Tusk, in 10 Downing Street, London, invoking Article 50 of the bloc’s key treaty, the formal start of exit negotiations. (Christopher Furlong/Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - In this Tuesday March 28, 2017 file photo Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May, sitting below a painting of Britain’s first Prime Minister Robert Walpole, signs the official letter to European Council President Donald Tusk, in 10 Downing Street, London, invoking Article 50 of the bloc’s key treaty, the formal start of exit negotiations. (Christopher Furlong/Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE- In this Wednesday, March 29, 2017 file photo, EU Council President Donald Tusk holds British Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit letter in notice of the UK’s intention to leave the bloc under Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty at a press conference in Brussels. After 3½ years of wrangling and rancor, Britain is not so much leaving the EU in triumph as stumbling exhausted across the finish line, like a runner at the end of a marathon. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys, File)
FILE- In this Wednesday, March 29, 2017 file photo, EU Council President Donald Tusk holds British Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit letter in notice of the UK’s intention to leave the bloc under Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty at a press conference in Brussels. After 3½ years of wrangling and rancor, Britain is not so much leaving the EU in triumph as stumbling exhausted across the finish line, like a runner at the end of a marathon. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys, File)
FILE - In this Friday, Oct. 20, 2017 file photo British Prime Minister Theresa May waits for the arrival of European Council President Donald Tusk prior to a bilateral meeting with European Council President Donald Tusk during an EU summit in Brussels. After 3½ years of wrangling and rancor, Britain is not so much leaving the EU in triumph as stumbling exhausted across the finish line, like a runner at the end of a marathon. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert, Pool)
FILE - In this Friday, Oct. 20, 2017 file photo British Prime Minister Theresa May waits for the arrival of European Council President Donald Tusk prior to a bilateral meeting with European Council President Donald Tusk during an EU summit in Brussels. After 3½ years of wrangling and rancor, Britain is not so much leaving the EU in triumph as stumbling exhausted across the finish line, like a runner at the end of a marathon. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert, Pool)
FILE - In this Monday, March 19, 2018 file photo European Union chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, right, gestures as he meets with British Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union David Davis at EU headquarters in Brussels. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, File)
FILE - In this Monday, March 19, 2018 file photo European Union chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, right, gestures as he meets with British Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union David Davis at EU headquarters in Brussels. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, File)
FILE - In this Friday, Aug. 31, 2018 file photo Britain’s Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union Dominic Raab, left, and EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier prepare to shake hands after a media conference at EU headquarters in Brussels. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, File)
FILE - In this Friday, Aug. 31, 2018 file photo Britain’s Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union Dominic Raab, left, and EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier prepare to shake hands after a media conference at EU headquarters in Brussels. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, File)
FILE - In this Thursday, Dec. 13, 2018 file photo British Prime Minister Theresa May, center, arrives for a round table meeting at an EU summit in Brussels. May told lawmakers Wednesday she is prepared to step down “earlier than I intended” in order to win passage of her Brexit divorce deal from the European Union. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)
FILE - In this Thursday, Dec. 13, 2018 file photo British Prime Minister Theresa May, center, arrives for a round table meeting at an EU summit in Brussels. May told lawmakers Wednesday she is prepared to step down “earlier than I intended” in order to win passage of her Brexit divorce deal from the European Union. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)
FILE - In this Thursday, Aug. 22, 2019 file photo French President Emmanuel Macron, left, talks to Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson during their meeting at the Elysee Palace, in Paris. (Christophe Petit Tesson, Pool via AP, File)
FILE - In this Thursday, Aug. 22, 2019 file photo French President Emmanuel Macron, left, talks to Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson during their meeting at the Elysee Palace, in Paris. (Christophe Petit Tesson, Pool via AP, File)
FILE - In this Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019 file photo a person dressed as a caricature of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a prison uniform stands outside the Supreme Court in London after it made it’s decision on the legality of Johnson’s five-week suspension of Parliament. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, file)
FILE - In this Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019 file photo a person dressed as a caricature of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a prison uniform stands outside the Supreme Court in London after it made it’s decision on the legality of Johnson’s five-week suspension of Parliament. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, file)
FILE - In this Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019 file photo President Donald Trump meets with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the United Nations General Assembly, in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
FILE - In this Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2019 file photo European Union chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier attends the weekly EU College of Commissioners meeting at EU headquarters in Brussels. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, File)
FILE - In this Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2019 file photo European Union chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier attends the weekly EU College of Commissioners meeting at EU headquarters in Brussels. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, File)
FILE - In this Thursday, Oct. 17, 2019 file photo British Prime Minister Boris Johnson shakes hands with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker during a press point at EU headquarters in Brussels. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, File)
FILE - In this Thursday, Oct. 17, 2019 file photo British Prime Minister Boris Johnson shakes hands with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker during a press point at EU headquarters in Brussels. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, File)
FILE - In this Thursday, Oct. 17, 2019 file photo British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, center, is greeted by Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, center left, during a round table meeting at an EU summit in Brussels. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)
FILE - In this Thursday, Oct. 17, 2019 file photo British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, center, is greeted by Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, center left, during a round table meeting at an EU summit in Brussels. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)
FILE - In this Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019 file photo whippets wear clothing with the EU flag during anti-Brexit protests in London. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
FILE - In this Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019 file photo Anti-Brexit remain in the European Union supporters gather after taking part in a “People’s Vote” protest march calling for another referendum on Britain’s EU membership, in Parliament Square in London. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)
FILE - In this Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019 file photo Anti-Brexit remain in the European Union supporters gather after taking part in a “People’s Vote” protest march calling for another referendum on Britain’s EU membership, in Parliament Square in London. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)
FILE - In this Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2019 file photo Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during an election campaign event for his ruling Conservative Party at the NEC, (National Exhibition Centre) in Birmingham, England. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)
FILE - In this Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2019 file photo Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during an election campaign event for his ruling Conservative Party at the NEC, (National Exhibition Centre) in Birmingham, England. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)
FILE - In this Friday Dec. 13, 2019 file photo Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson is greeted by staff as he returns to 10 Downing Street, London, after meeting Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace and accepting her invitation to form a new government. After 3½ years of wrangling and rancor, Britain is not so much leaving the EU in triumph as stumbling exhausted across the finish line, like a runner at the end of a marathon. (Stefan Rousseau/PA via AP, File)
FILE - In this Friday Dec. 13, 2019 file photo Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson is greeted by staff as he returns to 10 Downing Street, London, after meeting Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace and accepting her invitation to form a new government. After 3½ years of wrangling and rancor, Britain is not so much leaving the EU in triumph as stumbling exhausted across the finish line, like a runner at the end of a marathon. (Stefan Rousseau/PA via AP, File)
FILE - In this Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019 file photo a leave the European Union (EU) supporter, at right, holds a placard up in front of remain in the EU supporters protesting outside Downing Street in London. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)
FILE - In this Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019 file photo a leave the European Union (EU) supporter, at right, holds a placard up in front of remain in the EU supporters protesting outside Downing Street in London. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)
LONDON (AP) — So this is the way Britain’s European Union membership ends: Not with Big Ben’s bong, but with a whimper.
The bell won’t toll when the moment finally comes ; Parliament’s famous clock tower is undergoing repairs because it is crumbling and age-worn. At this point, who isn’t?
After 3½ years of wrangling and rancor, Britain is not so much leaving the EU in triumph as stumbling exhausted across the finish line, like a runner at the end of a marathon. With another marathon starting tomorrow.
There were years of late-night Brexit votes in the House of Commons, all-night EU summits and political drama as Britain’s relationship with its neighbors and its unwritten constitution were both stretched to the limit. It has been a frustrating, confusing, tiring, endlessly fascinating and agonizingly inconclusive journey.
One thing is certain: June 23, 2016, the date of Britain’s referendum on EU membership, feels like a long time ago.
The decision on whether or not to leave the bloc was bound to be divisive, dredging up deeply held notions of identity, sovereignty and allegiance. But the campaign was even more rancorous than many had predicted. When pro-EU Labour Party lawmaker Jo Cox was killed by a far-right extremist a week before the referendum, it felt like a dark chapter might be about to open.
Most opinion polls had suggested the U.K. would vote to remain in the EU, so the result was a shock to many politicians. Judging by his stricken look, it seemed to even surprise Boris Johnson, co- leader of the Vote Leave campaign.
But the clues had been there all along. Eight years after the 2008 financial crisis and six years into public spending cuts by Britain’s Conservative government, many voters were eager to defy the authorities in both London and Brussels.
The aftermath of the narrow victory by anti-EU forces was clearly a time for healing and compromise. But that didn’t happen.
Brexit’s main backers, including Johnson, quit the scene rather than try to deliver on their promises. That left Britain in the hands of Prime Minister Theresa May, a remainer-turned-leaver who was mistrusted by both sides of the Brexit divide.
In the divorce negotiations that followed, the EU stayed firm while Britain battled itself. U.K. politicians who wanted to leave the EU couldn’t agree on the terms of a deal, and those who wanted to stay squabbled over strategy.
After an ill-judged snap election in 2017 cost May her majority in Parliament, the government essentially ceased to function, unable to pass laws or deliver its Brexit blueprint. Tempers rose on the street as rival protesters traded abuse, while politicians faced jeers and online death threats.
May couldn’t achieve Brexit, but she did rack up a string of political firsts, including the biggest defeat in Commons history for her Brexit divorce deal. She watched helplessly as pro-EU lawmakers, aided by assertive Commons Speaker John Bercow, seized control of Parliament’s agenda to try to force a change of course. But May’s opponents couldn’t agree on what to do, either.
May’s own Conservative lawmakers tried to depose her, but she hung on. The first Brexit day, long scheduled for March 29, 2019, was postponed to Oct. 31 of that year, and May was finally forced to admit defeat. She quit and was replaced in July 2019 by Johnson, a politician better known as someone who can entertain but not necessarily deliver.
At first, he faced the same paralysis. In a bid to break the deadlock, he suspended Parliament, a political nuclear option that was immediately challenged in the courts.
Brexit perhaps reached peak mayhem on Sept. 24, 2019. Johnson, in New York to address the U.N. General Assembly, learned at 5 a.m. that the U.K. Supreme Court had ruled that he’d broken the law and misled Queen Elizabeth II by misleading her about the reason for the suspension. Johnson argued it was routine, but the court ruled he was trying to avoid scrutiny of his Brexit plans.
Johnson and his aides cut short a trip that had been intended to showcase “global Britain” and flew back to London, and a political storm.
With just weeks to go before Brexit was due, Johnson vowed to leave the EU, with or without a deal. Pro-Brexit politicians increasingly talked about a no-deal Brexit — an idea never raised even during the referendum campaign — as an acceptable and even desirable outcome.
That came despite increasingly frantic warnings from businesses about the disruption that would ensue after such a break with Britain’s biggest trading partner.
Doug Bannister, chief executive of the Port of Dover, warned that traffic at Britain’s busiest port would be cut in half if there was a no-deal Brexit. “It’s not going to be OK,” he warned.
Suddenly, all those people setting up Brexit hoarder groups on Facebook didn’t seem so extreme.
Then, quite quickly, the political landscape changed. Johnson secured a new “oven ready” Brexit deal. He didn’t mention that it was remarkably similar to May’s rejected agreement — he just seemed to be able to sell it better.
Like May, Johnson gambled on a snap election. Unlike May, he won. Johnson campaigned on the simple promise to “Get Brexit Done,” which struck a chord with weary voters who just wanted the whole sorry saga to be finished.
Johnson’s party won 43.6% of the vote, not an overwhelming endorsement but enough in Britain’s political system for the biggest Conservative majority since Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s.
Johnson will achieve his goal at 11 p.m. London time on Friday. The commemorative tea towels and fridge magnets are already for sale on the Conservative Party website, proclaiming “Got Brexit Done.”
Not so fast.
In actuality, very little will change during an 11-month transition period.
But after that?
Will British firms be able to trade tariff-free with the EU? Will British students be able to go on European academic exchanges? Will British police be able to arrest suspects who have fled to the EU? All this and much more must still be negotiated, and Johnson has set an end-of-year deadline to secure a deal.
Britain may be leaving the EU, but the nature of its European identity and relationship with its neighbors are far from resolved.
Meanwhile, the work of Britain’s Parliament has gone back to what used to be normal. The government wins votes and the opposition loses them. The Labour Party, trounced in December’s election, licks its wounds and prepares to elect a new leader. Political journalists have started making evening plans again.
It’s quiet out there: too quiet.
It probably won’t last.
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Jill Lawless has covered the twists and turns of Britain’s Brexit saga since 2016.
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Follow AP’s full coverage of Brexit and British politics at: https://www.apnews.com/Brexit