Thread by @uk_domain_names

The referendum created a unique situation in which the people in charge not only didn't want the outcome we got, they quite literally had no clue how to deliver it because it they *never* made the case for it.

And those that did make the case for it then said "not my problem!"

It's like someone without even a basic understanding of physics offered the electorate time travel, then turned around and demanded the scientists make good on that promise.

Has Theresa May made a total hash of Brexit? Absolutely. There was no need to trap ourselves in a last minute cul de sac of panic. No need to waste £4.2 billion on no deal.

But could someone more clued in have delivered a *successful* Brexit? No, because no such animal exists.

Theresa May deserves a mountain of criticism for not recognising that fact and levelling with voters. Somebody should have sat them down and explained that Brexit Santa doesn't exist, dried their tears, tousled their hair, and sent them on their way.

Instead, Theresa May opted to preserve the lie on behalf of the true believers in her party. Rather than expose the non-existence of Santa and risk splitting the Tories, she maintained that he was real *but we just haven't looked for him hard enough*.

That's why we're now stuck.

Blame for the original Santa claims rests entirely with those who made them. But blame for the current mess begins at Theresa May's door. Nobody forced her to be Prime Minister. She took on the role *after* the referendum was over, so she knew exactly what she was walking into.

Except maybe she didn't...

I am not and will never be a Theresa May apologist. But I try as hard as possible to look at the world as it is, not at how I wish it to be.

And when you go back to the context in which she took power, it's possible to see how good faith turned bad.

Remember, during the referendum all the talk was of Brexit flavours we would now call "soft". Leave or Remain, nobody prominent in either campaign was making a case for a hard or no deal Brexit.

So Theresa May could have come into office expecting to implement Norway+ or softer.

But then the Brexiters in the Tory party showed their true colours. They threw off their moderate mantle and went HARD.

And that's where Theresa May failed. She could have been firm and stood up to them at the very beginning instead of letting them shape the debate.

Instead, she indulged their ever more lurid rants.

Without any discipline or oversight, they turned feral. Their behaviour got worse, and worse, and worse, while Theresa May wrung her hands but *did* nothing. And that's how we got to today.

So it's still her fault. But it's possible to state that and still appreciate the nuance of why it's her fault.