Thread by @garvanwalshe

I’m going to suggest a constructive way out of this mess. Maybe this is a naive thing to do, but here goes anyway.

Thread

1/ Boris Johnson should not withdraw whip from rebels, but in exchange make clear that candidates opposed to it should not stand for the Conservative party.

2/ The EU Withdrawal Bill (No. 6) should be allowed to pass

3/ Corbyn and Johnson should agree to an election held mid october under the FTPA rule (with measures to prevent a setting of the date by the PM. If this needs special legislation, and Parliament has to sit at the weekend to pass it, so be it)

4/ Tories campaign for no deal, other parties campaign against it.

The fact that there’s no time for no deal prep with an election on is something voters can deliver their verdict about.

5/ If Tories win a majority, they can repeal the EU Withdrawal (No 6) Bill. If they don’t they can’t and coalition negotiations are necessary.

6/ Note that if the Tories have a big enough majority they could technically pass the WA, which allows a so-called “clean break” after the transition period. It doesn’t rule out no deal as an end state, just as an emotional spasm.

7/ This does mean abandoning the position that no EU law can apply to the UK immediately after Brexit - b they could maintain that position after the transition period, with a caveat.

8/ The caveat is that the UK would have ageed, by ratifying the WA, to the EU being able to take “proportionate compensatory measures” (or similar phrase) in so far as the UK failed to live up to the backstop

9/ However, the caveat should be set against the advantage of having more years to prepare for no deal and develop different solutions to the NI border problem.

10/ If the Tories don’t get a majority, then coalition negotiations could produce an outcome, within the timetable set out in the EU Withdrawal Bill (No. 6).

11/ That might be require a referendum, or some other device (perhaps a further election), but again, so be it. In such a case the referendum should be on a specific proposal, with a clear outcome established for both “yes” and “no” so that a binding result is achieved.

12/ This isn’t a particularly good outcome for anyone, but it can be done without destroying the constitution, and it allows British institutions to start bringing some resolution to the social conflict the referendum created. ENDS