Plans to break the current Brexit impasse could land Theresa May in even deeper trouble

Sean Gallup | Getty Images News | Getty Images

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM – NOVEMBER 25: British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks at a press conference after attending a special session of the European Council over Brexit on November 25, 2018 in Brussels, Belgium. 

Despite efforts by the Labour party and other political opponents of the government in the House of Commons, it now looks very unlikely that Theresa May — after last week’s postponement — will put her Brexit proposal to a parliamentary vote this side of the New Year.

But there may still be plenty of public disagreements and political wrangling ahead when it comes to the best path forward, including inside her own Cabinet that meets Tuesday.

In her statement Monday, after a largely fruitless trip to Brussels late last week, the prime minister all but ruled out a second referendum on her watch. She insisted that such a vote would “break faith” with the British public, and in particular the slender majority that voted to leave the European Union more than two years ago.

Several of her ministers over the weekend dutifully echoed this view; International Trade Secretary Liam Fox said a second referendum would “perpetuate” the divisions in the U.K., while Education Minister Damian Hinds insisted it would unquestionably be “divisive.”

So whither Brexit? And what clarity — if any — can investors and businesses glean from the current maelstrom of competing interests in Westminster?