It felt like a timely metaphor. Maybe it was even a divine judgment. In fact it was caused by a humble plumbing failure from above, rather than a weightier verdict from the same quarter. Even so, few Commons leaks have triggered such lack of concern among MPs as Thursday’s decision to adjourn after a torrent of water had poured into the press gallery while Justine Greening was addressing MPs on problems facing the tax system. No disrespect is intended to the former education secretary, but the early end to Commons business will have come as a relief to MPs and much of the public alike. That’s because the stress and exhaustion that MPs feel about the Brexit crisis are now palpable. And they are very widely shared. A survey last week found that six out of 10 people think that anxiety about the crisis is damaging the nation’s mental health.
The weary and stressed national mood caused by Brexit is understandable – and likely to endure. It provides a significant part of the context for the talks that continued in Whitehall on Thursday between a government team led by David Lidington and a Labour one under Keir Starmer. Those talks have been taking place for the toughest of pressing political reasons. Only a week now remains before Britain is scheduled to leave the EU. Theresa May appears to have decided that her EU deal will not pass through parliament without securing Labour support in some way. But all sides are also aware that the longer the crisis continues, the greater the decline in public contentment with politics.
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