THERE'S nothing like a constitutional revolution to focus minds. Monday night's events at Westminster have steered the Brexit process in a new direction and into fresh uncharted waters, where it's hoped MPs can whittle down the available options through a series of indicative votes.
The move to give parliament a greater input sounds good in theory and is a welcome diversion from Theresa May's cul-de-sac strategy but how successful it will ultimately be is not known, given that the indicative votes are not legally binding and that MPs alone have no authority to negotiate with the EU. It should, however, result in greater clarity about where a consensus can be built upon.
Westminster taking control weakens the DUP's hand because unlike the Tory government, MPs as a bloc aren't reliant on the DUP's ten votes. While the tone from Sammy Wilson yesterday was as belligerent as ever, he clearly senses that Brexit could be slipping away and the prospect of the UK crashing out of the EU now appears remote. Arch-Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg's turnabout assertion that "Mrs May's deal is better than not leaving at all" must surely have played on the minds of the DUP, who are now floating the idea of a one-year extension, enabling the party to "have a say on the things which affect us".
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Such a move would signal the UK's participation in May's European elections and create another unknown quantity that is best characterised as 12 months of 'stabilised uncertainty' but it would also create space for the DUP to get off the uncompromising hook they have hung themselves on.
However, once the indicative vote process is worked through, it's likely that the resulting option or options will be presented to MPs as an alternative to Mrs May's withdrawal agreement, which although resoundingly rejected on previous occasions could prove more palatable to Tory Brexiteers than what parliament is offering. Backing the previously-maligned deal would deliver a Brexit of sorts, and also avert a leadership contest and general election, both of which Conservatives would be keen to avoid. The bookies adjusted their prices accordingly yesterday afternoon, significantly shortening the odds on the Tory leader emerging victorious from a third meaningful vote.
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