During a report on the BBC‘s Politics Live, Laura Kuenssberg uttered two words about Theresa May’s Brussels trip that revealed what a shitstorm it really is:
It comes to something when Laura Kuenssberg describes the Prime Ministers latest trip to Brussels as “embarrassing and disastrous”.
— Rachael Swindon #WeAreCollective (@Rachael_Swindon) December 14, 2018
A disaster
Although she has her moments, people don’t generally view Kuenssberg as the prime minister’s biggest critic. But her assessment of May’s Brussels trip completely cut to the chase:
"What's gone wrong?" @Jo_Coburn asks @bbclaurak over PM meeting EU leaders#politicslive https://t.co/xJAfDqwRGW pic.twitter.com/rZYTYtZOnk
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) December 14, 2018
The BBC‘s political editor said that May’s current situation is a “disaster”. She also labelled May’s efforts a “real failure” and a “real embarrassment”.
Kuenssberg’s comments came amid reports that the EU rejected May’s plan to add a legal guarantee – called a “joint interpretative instrument” – which would have put a time limit on the backstop (which is an arrangement to avoid a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland if a trade deal isn’t reached).
The EU also reportedly deleted parts of its draft conclusions that make May’s chance of winning a parliamentary vote on her deal even slimmer:
This is not going well. The EU has deleted some of the most helpful sections of its draft conclusions after listening to Theresa May speak. And Juncker is now telling us: "We don't want the UK to think there can be any form of renegotiation whatsoever. " pic.twitter.com/U7W95YAbdf
— Jack Blanchard (@Jack_Blanchard_) December 13, 2018
Sinking ship
Nonetheless, at a press conference on 14 December, May painted a rosier picture of her time in Brussels. She said:
The EU is clear, as I am, that if we are going to leave with a deal, this is it, but my discussions with colleagues today have shown that further clarification and discussion following the council’s conclusions is, in fact, possible.
Kuenssberg appears to be giving the PM the benefit of the doubt on her claims. Others, however, weren’t quite so generous:
How does anyone believe her anymore?
— I am Spartacus (@twattwattering) December 14, 2018
Featured image via screengrab
