Britain | Bagehot

The Brexit Re-enactment Society

By threatening to rip up EU law, Parliament is reliving past blunders

Historical re-enactment is a popular pastime in Britain. Caps, tunics and boots are recreated with loving care; only the paunches and wheezing dismounts of the combatants intrude on the illusion. Fans of the genre should make their way to the public gallery of the House of Lords this month. Their lordships are reluctant participants in a faithful recreation of the events of spring 2017, when, in a headlong charge, Parliament legislated to begin the Brexit process and the invoking of the EU’s exit clause.

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This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “The Brexit Re-enactment Society ”

From the February 18th 2023 edition

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