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00:00A PROFESSOR OF POLITICS AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONSHIP AT THE DIVERSITY OF KENT IN THE U.K. IT FEELS LIKE WE ARE IN THIS TERRIBLY ENDLESS, CIRCULARS ADVENTURED TYPE TELEVISION SHOW. WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS? IT WAS INTERESTING THAT THERESA MAY BROUGHT UP THE IDEA OF A SECOND REFERENDUM WHICH WE HAVE NOT REALLY HEARD HER SAY BEFORE. RICHARD: SHORT-TERM, IT IS CLEAR WE HAVE MORE PARLIAMENTARY ACTION OF THE NEXT FEW DAYS. HAIDI: THE VOTE TO EXTENT. RICHARD: NO DEAL IS CLEAR. THERE WAS A MAJORITY IN PARLIAMENT THAT SAYS IT DOES NOT WANT TO GO INTO A NO DEAL BREXIT. THE QUESTION IS THIS EXTENSION POSSIBILITY, BUT FOR HOW LONG? THAT IS THE EU'S DECISION. IN THE SHORT-TERM, A GREAT DEAL OF POLITICAL TURBULENCE IN THE U.K. HAIDI: TUSK'S SPOKESMAN SAYING THERE HAS TO BE CLEAR JUSTIFICATION. HOW DO YOU PUT A DURATION ON HOW MUCH TIME THEY NEED TO SORT THIS MESS OUT? RICHARD: IT IS A REAL ISSUE BECAUSE KICKING IT DOWN THE ROAD, YOU'LL STILL FACE THE PROBLEM IN PARLIAMENT. CAN THERESA MAY PUT THE SQUEEZE ON MORE IN HER PARTY TO GET THE DEAL THROUGH? IT DOES NOT LOOK LIKE THAT AT THE MOMENT. EVEN LABOR MPS HAVE NOT ON HER WAY. EVEN FROM HER CONSTITUENCIES. SO FAR, SHE IS REALLY STUCK IN A PLACE THAT IT IS NOT EASY FOR HER TO THINK ABOUT A WAY FORWARD, ON THE BASIS OF THE CURRENT DEAL. SHERY: SHE LOST BY 149 VOTES WHICH IS SMALLER LOSS THAN WHAT SHE FACED BACK IN JANUARY. WHERE DOES THAT PUT THIS REVISED DEAL WHICH SHE WORKED ON FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS? RICHARD: THE GOVERNMENT'S APPROACH HAS BEEN TO BASICALLY PILAF MEMBERS OF HER OWN PARTY BY MAKING IT APPEAR SHE HAS A BETTER DEAL. THAT DIDN'T WORK. THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S ADVICE REALLY DID FALL. THE APPROACH WAS TO PEEL OFF SOME LABOR MP'S. THAT ALSO HAS NOT WORKED. WHAT WE HAVE SEEN IS A CLEAR SENSE OF WHERE PARLIAMENT IS AT WHICH IS NOT LIKING THE DEAL THAT SHE'S GOT. THE GOAL IS PREDICATED, WHICH IS WHY YOU NEED THE BACKSTOP, HAVING RULED OUT COMING OUT OF SINGLE MARKETS. DO WE SEE A SOFTENING OF WHAT THE U.K. SEEKS TO GET? THAT WOULD BE A JUSTIFICATION FOR THE EU TO MAYBE THINKING ABOUT GOING BACK INTO RENEGOTIATION WITH THE U.K. BUT NOT IN THE SHORT-TERM. THEY WILL WANT TO SEE MUCH GREATER CLARITY FROM THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT. SHERY: IT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO SEE THE REACTION FROM THE EUROPEAN UNION, WHICH HAS HAD A COORDINATED RESPONSE EVERY TIME SOMETHING HAPPENS WITH BREXIT. FRANCE TALKING ABOUT A DELAY OF BREXIT ON ALTERNATIVE STRATEGY FROM THE UNITED KINGDOM, WHICH IS SOMETHING DONALD TUSK HAS SAID. HOW UNITED HAVE THEY BEEN IN THE RESPONSE TO BREXIT? RICHARD: THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST REMARKABLE THINGS, THAT THE EU 27 HAVE HAD A COMMON PURPOSE AND MANAGED TO HOLD A LOT IN TERMS OF NEGOTIATIONS. I THINK IN THE SHORT-TERM, THEIR INTEREST WILL BE TO MITIGATE THE DAMAGE FOR THEMSELVES. I THINK THEIR INTEREST IS PROBABLY GOING TO THE IN AN EXTENSION OF THE ARTICLE 50 PERIOD, NOT NECESSARILY FOR THE U.K., BUT SO THEY CAN DO MORE NO DEAL PREP. THAT IS WHERE THEY ARE AT THE MOMENT, SEEING A BRITISH GOVERNMENT THAT IS FATALLY WOUNDED BUT CANNOT IDENTIFY A CLEAR WAY FORWARD FOR THE U.K. THEY WERE PROBABLY WANT SOME TIME AS WELL TO GET THEIR AFFAIRS IN ORDER, BUT THIS IS NOT GOOD FOR BOTH SIDES. HAIDI: IN A MOST OF LIKE THERESA MAY CAME BACK FROM STRASBURG WITH A LITTLE MORE LEVERAGE BECAUSE WE HEARD JEAN-CLAUDE JUNCKER SAY THIS IS THE FINAL THE. WE KNOW WITH ECONOMIC GROWTH BEING WEAKER IN EUROPE. DO THEY HAVE MORE ROOM TO GET? RICHARD: I THINK THE PROBLEM IS WHAT THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT'S REDLINES ARE. THE EU FEELS LIKE THEY HAD GONE TO THE LIMIT TO WHAT THEY CAN OFFER. I THINK MOST COMMENTATORS DID NOT EXPECT THAT EVERYTHING WOULD HANG ON THIS ISSUE, THE SO-CALLED IRISH BACKSTOP ISSUE. THE ONLY WAY TO SOFTEN THAT, THE ONLY WAY FOR THE EU TO COME BACK WITH SOMETHING DIFFERENT IS FOR THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT TO SHIFT ON ITS RELATIONSHIP TO A SINGLE MARKET POST-BREXIT. THEN, YOU HAVE DIFFERENT KINDS OF OPTIONS FOR NORTHERN ISLAND. THIS GOVERNMENT DOES NOT WANT TO DO THAT SO THE QUESTION ARISES. HAIDI: MAY'S POSITION HAS BEEN IN PERIL FOR WHITE SOMETIME BUT DO YOU EXPECT HER TO FILL OUT A JOB IN THREE MONTHS, A SECOND REFERENDUM TO BE A REALISTIC OPTION? RICHARD: A SECOND REFERENDUM IS SOMETHING THAT CANNOT BE RULED OUT. A GENERAL ELECTION IS A MORE LIKELY PROPOSITION. A GENERAL ELECTION IS LIKELY TO LEAD TO A COALITION OR INCONCLUSIVE TYPE SCENARIO WHICH MEANS THE PROSPECTS OF A COALITION GOVERNMENT FOR THE U.K. IF YOU HAVE A GENERAL ELECTION, THE PARTIES CAN OFFER THE OPTION OF A SECOND REFERENDUM. PARLIAMENT WILL NOT VOTE FOR A

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British Government Is 'Fatally Wounded,' Professor Whitman Says

Richard Whitman, professor at the University of Kent and an associate fellow at Chatham House, talks about the Brexit negotiations. U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal was rejected once again by Parliament, throwing the country deeper into political crisis and raising the prospect that the divorce will be delayed or even reversed. Whitman speaks on "Bloomberg Daybreak: Australia." (Source: Bloomberg)

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