Analysis
Behind the Brexit Chaos, a Faulty U.K. Negotiating Strategy
London misjudged how other EU members, including some it saw as stalwart allies, would react to Britons’ move to leave the bloc
U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May narrowly survived a no-confidence vote triggered by lawmakers of her own party over her handling of Brexit. WSJ Brexit Editor Stephen Fidler explains why securing a deal has been so chaotic.
LONDON—When British politicians launched Brexit negotiations after the country’s 2016 referendum decision to leave the European Union, they were confident they could win a special deal by finding allies among the 27 remaining members of the bloc.
The strategy misfired, as underlined by Prime Minister Theresa May’s apparently futile effort in Brussels on Thursday to persuade other leaders to sweeten a withdrawal agreement that has aroused widespread opposition among her own Conservative Party lawmakers.
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