John Rentoul and Fraser Nelson on the Brexit vote.

It is interesting to compare the perspectives of John Rentoul from the Independent and Fraser Nelson who is usually associated with the Spectator (but writing in the Sun on this occasion) next week's Brexit vote.

One is a pragmatic centre-left journalist who is one of the comparatively few remaining people who probably would not object to being called Blairite. The other is a pragmatic right-winger who voted Leave and had up until a few days ago been seriously suggesting that Britain should consider a no-deal Brexit.

Although they come from different perspectives, especially on Brexit, I regard Nelson and Rentoul as having in common, and I say this although I frequently disagree with both of them, that they are highly intelligent men with a gift for seeing the world as it is and not as they would wish it to be.

So when both of them say that if the PM does not get her deal through this week there is a good chacne that Brexit will be softened or never happen at all, there is a good chance that they are right.

John Rentoul argues here that

"Personally I think delaying Brexit would be a bad decision, because the prime minister’s deal is a sensible compromise that respects the referendum and keeps us close to the EU economy. I think Tory no-dealers are fanatics who would rather destroy what they have worked for than accept any impurity or compromise. And I think most Labour MPs who vote against the deal are breaking promises they made to honour the referendum."


Fraser Nelson, coming to a similar conclusion from the opposite direction, argues in the Sun that Brexit supporters who vote against the deal because they want to get something stronger, possibly a No Deal Brexit, need to recognise that,

"This isn’t PRACTICAL POLITICS. If Brexiteers won’t back Mrs May’s deal, then Brexit is ONLY GOING TO GET SOFTER."

The PM cannot say this openly because it would remove any pressure on the EU to make the compromise which it looks like we need to avoid at best a delay and at worst a failure to leave at all. But there is no way that a "No Deal" Brexit would get through parliament.

So Brexit supporter MPs who vote against the deal in the hope of a harder Brexit are actually risking preventing Britain from leaving the EU at all.

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