World articles part 15
The deal is taking fire from multiple directions
There are many objections to the Brexit bill, making clear that no approach to leaving the European Union commands anything close to majority support.
Hard-line pro-Brexit Conservatives argue that the deal ties Britain much too closely to European trade rules for the foreseeable future. Many even contend that a no-deal exit from the bloc would be preferable.
The 1998 accord that brought peace to Northern Ireland guarantees free movement of goods and people between that part of Britain and the Republic of Ireland, a European Union member. But many Conservatives, and the Democratic Unionist Party, a small group in Northern Ireland allied with the British government, object to the way Mrs. May’s deal would protect that guarantee.
The deal Prime Minister Theresa May reached with Brussels includes a “backstop” that would keep Northern Ireland more closely tied to the bloc than with the rest of Britain if the two sides are unable to reach a long-term agreement by the end of 2020. Critics say that would effectively divide Britain in two.
There are lawmakers in several parties who oppose Brexit in any form and want a second referendum. And Mrs. May has accused the opposition Labour Party of political opportunism, by simply opposing anything her government tries to do. — Richard Pérez-Peña
Parliament speaker is caught in the middle
He’s the unlikeliest star of this season of Brexit, alternately reviled and adored and often on the front page of the tabloids: John Bercow, the House of Commons speaker. His job, as the highest authority in the chamber, is to preside over debates and, mostly, to get members to shut up. The role is supposed to be strictly nonpartisan.
But Mr. Bercow — easily recognizable with his floppy silver hair and booming voice — now finds himself in the position of an umpire who makes a controversial call in the early innings that could wind up tipping the whole game.
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