It's taken nearly three years, but the Brexit debate in Britain is finally exiting the realm of the theoretical.
After Sunday's historic European Union vote, the divorce document on the table is now live, and Brexit looms on the horizon.
Now that it is better defined — well beyond Prime Minister Theresa May's "Brexit means Brexit" — all that's left is the approval of both the E.U. and British Parliaments.
But as it gears up for a showdown, the latter is set to light up with disapproval, making the often-splintered group of 27 E.U. countries seem utterly cohesive by comparison.
From when she took over as PM, just after the U.K. voted to leave the E.U., May promised to heal Britain's Brexit-inflicted rifts. Instead, her deal brings them all to life. The debate in Parliament is set to put the many fault lines on full, irate display.
Even in draft form, the deal May brought home from arduous negotiations in Brussels unleashed acrimony from — and within — all sides of the House. As the deal took shape, waves of her own cabinet ministers quit. More than a few Tory MPs even threatened to oust her.
Despite May's dire warnings of this deal or chaos, few beyond May's loyalists say they favour the agreement. By most counts, the British Parliament is now almost certain to vote it down.
Ask MPs why they oppose it, however, or how they should proceed from a "no" vote, and they scatter in all directions. There's not even agreement on the parliamentary procedure for the coming debate.
