I agree that despite the overwhelming preference among all parties in Parliament (except UKIP and the DUP) prior to the referendum for Remain, the Commons are very unlikely to seek to prevent Article 50 being invoked.

The problem in my view is that the MPs will (rightly IMO) insist on knowing at least in broad terms the initial aims of the negotiating process from the Gov's point of view. "Brexit means Brexit" or "The Best Possible Outcome" won't cut it.

May is stubbornly refusing to state the objective, mainly because if she says she wants to preserve the single market or customs unions the crazy folk in her party will stab her promptly in the back and if she says she'd leave the above she's in deep doodoo from the rest.

All this crap about not revealing a negotiating strategy because it would tip her hand to the 27 is just that, crap. They'll know it immediately after the talks start anyway. It's more likely that she simply hasn't a clue what she's going to do.

Blathering platitudes isn't going to take her (or us) very far.

I must admit I'm a bit surprised at this idea (previously reported) that even though MPs are mostly (a big mostly) against Brexit that they might be worried about their own re-election by going against "the people's wishes" and voting against it.

At face value, the vote was 52/48 which is hardly the strong force that one might think is enough to remove an MP.

Add in the actual turnout and the small majority becomes a bit more than a third.

Of course "majority rules" is the way democracy works but bigger majorities of the electorate have been in favour of restoration of Capital Punishment for decades and MPs have had no difficulty going against that.

Why would they be more concerned about this?

Completely agreed. It's a monumental mess, and May's cloak and dagger approach belies a complete inability to lead. It almost seems as if she's relying on delays to throw up a set of circumstances which she can then claim she needs to meet.

I'm surprised and disappointed. My guess is there's a leadership vacumn on the Remain side as Labour is too conflicted over Jezza, and the Lib Dems remain on the periphery. Another factor could be that many of the Remain MP's were only lightly committed to remaining in the EU. The only politician vociferous about staying within the EU is Nicola Sturgeon, but she has the baggage of ulterior motive attached to her efforts.

I think there's an air of Donald Trump about her. She only likes referendums when the results favour her views.

Toblerone increases the size of the gaps