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).
The Supreme Court will reconsider race-based affirmative action in college admissions. The court will examine admissions policies at Harvard University and The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, which count the race of applicants as a factor in admissions. The court has upheld affirmative action policies in the past, saying it helps to create more diverse student bodies. However, the conservative Supreme Court could be skeptical and even possibly hostile to such policies. Nick Anderson, Higher Education Writer, Washington Post joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
Stephanie Akin, Politics Reporter for CQ Roll Call, breaks down
Senator Manchin's donation pool, and highlights what this support means for the conservative Democrat as well as the Republican party.
The global oil benchmark surpassed $90 for the first time in more than seven years. This comes as growing tensions between Russia and Ukraine add to concerns about the already-tight market. Jay Hatfield, Chief Investment Officer at ICAP, joined Cheddar to discuss what this benchmark means for the oil industry, and what might happen if Russia does invade its neighbor.
With the Beijing Winter Olympics set to get underway on Friday, Dan Wolken, a national columnist for USA Today, joined Cheddar News to break down the big storylines as the pandemic and international conflicts threaten to cast a cloud over the event that is aspirationally seen as a beacon of international cooperation. Wolken noted specific issues over cybersecurity for visiting athletes and disputes over human rights leading to a diplomatic boycott have been making waves even before the opening ceremony. "So you've got sort of these barbs going back and forth already between the Americans and the Chinese, and things haven't even started yet," he said. "We don't even know what's going to happen once the games start and people actually start winning medals."
We are a week away from the 2022 Beijing Olympics, and China has already faced a host of problems leading up to the opening ceremony of the Beijing games. DJ Peterson, president of Longview Global Advisors, joins Cheddar News to discuss the many concerns and controversies surrounding the event.
In 2021, QAnon, the community which traffics in conspiracy theories saw a rapid growth in its numbers. As a result of vaccine rollouts, a number of conspiracies surrounding them also began to circulate which then led to the rise of "Anti-Vaxxers". As a result, the QAnon and anti-vax communities have become increasingly intertwined and the results could be costing lives. Senior Researcher at Media Matters Alex Kaplan, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Supreme Court Justice Breyer has announced that he will officially retire from his post. He has served as the senior member of the more liberal wing in recent years. Now his retirement puts pressure on President Biden to decide on who will replace Breyer. Attorney and Media Editor at SCOTUS blog Katie Barlow, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
A long awaited report in the UK looking into the alleged parties held at 10 Downing Street during lockdown finds a culture of excessive drinking and a "failure of leadership" in Boris Johnson's government. Cheddar News speaks with international journalist Thomas Cole, who is closely monitoring latest developments.
