Kettle comes to the boil

GUadrina columnist M Kettle 's patience is at an end. God knows he has tried to compromise [really?] but the choice is now clear for Remainers -- PV.

There will be no soft Brexit now. It’s no deal or another vote 

It solves a dilemma for him as a liberal and Parliamentary democrat --how to get over the inconvenient result of the 2016 Referendum:

Ever since the Brexit vote in June 2016, many of us pro-Europeans have had to live with a dilemma. On the one hand, we regarded the vote to leave the European Union as a disaster for our country. On the other, we accepted the galling reality that it was the democratically expressed view of the majority...Until recently, my view could have been summarised as follows: Brexit remains a lamentable event I will always oppose; but, in the absence of public permission to overturn it, a softer version would be less bad than a hard one, and could provide the fragile basis for an eventual form of reintegration with Europe down the line.

Desperately though they tried through the winter, the hard Brexiteers failed to harden the original deal or take down May in the way they wanted. That left a space in the political centre. So, when May finally made an opening to Labour in early April, there was a possibility that a Brexit compromise was on the cards...But it hasn’t happened. The talks between the government and Labour continue. But they are not going anywhere

There are three big issues on the table in these talks. But there is no agreement on any of them. The first is over the terms of a future customs union and on single market alignment. The second, on which the two sides have had the biggest arguments, is on “future-proofing” any agreement against the next Conservative leader. The third is over the role, if any, of a confirmatory second vote.

That nice Mrs May is apparently prepared to compromise -- but not the old enemy, Corbyn.  Kettle's own 'compromise' would be for 'parliamentary support for soft Brexit in return for a confirmatory referendum, for instance – for which the circumstances cry out.', which pretty much looks like what he wanted all along rather than any sort of compromise.However, this obvious choice looks increasingly unlikely  now is the time for loin-girding and cudgel up-taking:

parliament’s efforts to take control of Brexit from the government have failed. In March, this sovereign parliament route [absolutely no irony here] seemed to offer a way forward. May’s deal was dead. Backbenchers came up with other cross-party ideas. The Speaker facilitated the process. Marches and petitions gave a feeling of momentum. When it came to the crunch, however, MPs knew what they did not want – no deal – but not what they did want...therefore...soft Brexit itself has also failed...soft Brexit must now be added to no-deal Brexit and May’s Brexit on the political scrapheap of the past three years.

Time for strong action and strong opinion leaders [GUardian journalists] to take control:

With no viable soft Brexit option on offer any longer, it has become meaningless to stand for a compromise that rested on the possibility that MPs and parties would strike a deal. The attempt to reconcile Britain’s place in Europe with the leave victory of 2016 within the Brexit process is therefore dead. It was killed by the hardline Brexiteers and by May’s rigidity. We pragmatic pro-Europeans [!] are therefore discharged from our dilemma....We are back to remain or leave, but now in their 2019 versions. The times will inevitably be very divided again. The effective Brexit choice will lie between no deal, promoted by May’s successor and much of the Tory party, and a second vote, hopefully but by no means certainly promoted by Corbyn, and by other parties too.

Parliamentary business as usual then, simply sidestepping that dreadful referendum result. 

Meanwhile, in other Guardian stories, first: 

Is buying vintage clothing the most eco way to shop? 

With Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and Kim Kardashian spotted in vintage wear, and its increasing availability on the high street, it could be the answer to sustainable shopping

And 

'The need was there': Berlin's first vegan canteen for students opens