Whilst the news that the Tories are tearing themselves apart is always good news, it would be handy if they didn’t do it in the middle of a national emergency that they created.
Their whole aim is to essentially run out the clock to force parliament to back her shitty 'deal' rather than crash out without one. They were meant to have a vote on her shitty 'deal' last night, but she pulled it at the 11th hour as it was certain to lose. They now aim to have this parliament vote sometime before 21st January.
Why is the deal shitty? Can you explain what the hell the hubbub is regarding the backstop?
I don't know the answer to the first question. I'm not sure anyone really does, impartially-speaking.
As to the second question, as I understand it, the main problem that has been raised about the backstop is that it would effectively split off Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK in at least some ways and thus weaken the union between the two. Now, for some people here, mostly Unionists (those, who are mainly protestants, in favour of NI remaining British) that is akin to being an almost literal harbinger of End Times (aka a possible united Ireland).
A key factor is that the relatively tiny NI Democratic Unionist Party unexpectedly gained a huge bargaining lever after the last general election, which went badly for the Conservatives, to the extent that the DUP, which broadly supports the Conservative Party, effectively holds a balance of power, which in real terms amounts to a potential veto.
An irony is that the DUP campaigned heavily for Brexit in the first place and even got their hands dirty by getting involved in questionable financial shenanigans regarding its promotion in England. Without Brexit, the threat of a weakened union would not have emerged.
In a nutshell, the backstop issue is a sideshow, and in many ways is merely a local, NI issue, but has more importance because of the aforementioned role of the DUP.
Another mildly interesting item is that the other main party here, Sinn Fein (Irish Republicans whose wet dream is a united Ireland) could wield a similarly effective influence in whatever direction they chose, which would effectively cancel out the DUP's influence. This might even include, for instance, supporting the deal currently on offer (which would in broad terms further their aims for a united Ireland by allowing for a possible backstop) but (a) Sinn Fein MPs will not and have never taken their seats at Westminster on ideological (anti-British) principles and (b) could never be seen to s.be supporting the hated Conservatives even if they did take their seats.
