What Theresa May's Tough Week Means for the Future of Brexit
*By Christian Smith*
British Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit plan had a turbulent rollout this week, but the British Trade Commissioner for North America said the path to a successful exit from the European Union is still on track.
"So far, we are on course for the path that she set out just after the referendum almost two years ago," Antony Phillipson said Friday in an interview on Cheddar. "There's been a lot of drama, but the cabinet has reached agreement on the position the prime minister has taken."
After almost two years of negotiating, May released her 585-page Brexit proposal on Thursday. Almost immediately, two key members of her cabinet resigned over the deal and almost two dozen members of parliament in May's Conservative Party called for a vote of confidence ー which could lead to the prime minister's outster if the majority of Parliament votes that it has "no confidence" in its leader.
Removing May from office could have a detrimental effect on the Brexit negotiations, said Jackie Bischof, deputy news editor for Europe at Quartz.
"Losing a leader who has reached this point of the negotiations at this time would mean a huge loss of time, a big setback, and would create even more chaos than there is right now," Bischof told Cheddar.
At issue for many "Brexiteers" is the proposed plan's handling of the open border between Northern Ireland, which is a part of the United Kingdom, and Ireland, which is a member of the EU.
Hard-line Brexit supporters want Britain to regain control of its borders, including the border with Ireland.
May's proposal, however, would maintain that open border, which was established as part of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement that ushered peace into the region after years of violence.
Bischof noted that this is a deeply emotional issue for those in Ireland and Northern Ireland who remember the violence that plagued the region for decades.
"People have a living memory of there being a border, of it being very traumatic," Bischof said. "They want to avoid it."
Political infighting will likely continue as the 2019 deadline for a deal approaches, but Phillipson said he is confident in the prime minister's vision.
"The bottom line is that there was a referendum in June 2016 and the British people said they wanted to leave the EU, and the position of the prime minister and her cabinet and the government is to deliver that in a way that works for Britain in the future," he said.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/theresa-may-in-hot-water-over-proposed-brexit-deal).
David Daley, author of the book 'Unrigged: How Americans Are Battling Back to Save Democracy,' joins Cheddar News to discuss redistricting battles taking place across the U.S.
Andrew Cuomo is reportedly planning his comeback. According to the Wall Street Journal, the former New York governor and his aides are considering how to make his first public appearance since he abruptly resigned last August amid sexual harassment allegations. Jake Lahut, politics reporter for Insider, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss Cuomo's potential return to politics.
The pressure is on for UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson - after his closest aides handed in their resignations this week.
It comes after a report found that 16 parties had taken place at Downing Street while Covid lockdown protocols were in place in the region. Ari Aramesh, Attorney & National Security/Foreign Policy Analyst joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
President Biden has ordered about 3,000 U.S. troops to Eastern Europe as Russia refuses to back off its pressure on Ukraine. The deployments to Poland, Germany, and Romania are a show of support to NATO allies concerned about a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine. This is in addition to the 8,500 troops put on high alert. David Tafuri, former Obama campaign foreign policy advisor and former State Department official, joined Cheddar to discuss what this move means for U.S.-Russia relations.
After tennis player Peng Shuai made an explicit sexual assault allegation toward a former Chinese government official, she disappeared from the public eye. Her recent reappearance with the IOC alongside a Chinese Olympic committee official raised eyebrows and renewed concerns for her safety. Asian affairs expert Gordon Chang, author of "The Coming Collapse of China," joined Wake Up With Cheddar to discuss Peng Shuai's retraction and the various human rights controversies swirling at the Beijing games. "It's clear that the IOC was working with Beijing to make sure that she did not express herself freely," Chang said. "So really this is the IOC being complicit in these mechanisms of control over Peng."
The opening ceremony of the 2022 winter Olympics has kicked off at the Beijing national stadium. 150,000 spectators are in attendance for the games inside the 'closed loop' system separating Olympic personnel from the public. Cheddar News spoke with Brian Cazenueve, Sports Illustrated contributor, to share the highlights you may have missed and much more.
The Biden Administration is set to revise federal rules to address potential security risks from foreign-owned apps, mainly Tiktok. This comes after the White House opted not to pursue a forced shutdown of the Chinese-owned video sharing platform. Under these new rules, federal oversight would be expanded to explicitly include apps that could be used by foreign adversaries to steal or otherwise obtain data. Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Craig Singleton, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Although this week's weather is predicted to be less severe than the 2021 storm, Texans are preparing for the worst - stocking up on supplies and emptying shelves in grocery stores, once again. Some Texans still have not recovered from last year's tragedy, and are heading into the next few weeks with anxiety for what's to come. Leslie Beyer, CEO of the Houston-based energy workforce & technology council, joins Cheddar News to discuss if the Texas grid will fail again.
