Politico: Battered and bruised, Theresa May limps into enemy territory

In the queen’s speech setting out the government’s policy agenda Wednesday, much of the prime minister’s planned legislative program as outlined in the Conservative Party manifesto was either ditched or kicked into the long grass. The bulk of what remained was all about Brexit. [...]

Should she survive the queen’s speech vote next week, her next major test will be the “Repeal Bill,” without which there can be no Brexit. The bill repeals the act of parliament which gives EU law its legal status in Britain. It also downloads the entire body of EU law onto the U.K. statute book. [...]

Adding a further layer of complexity, the prime minister revealed to MPs Wednesday that part of the Repeal Bill may need the approval of the Scottish parliament. “It’s possible that a legislative consent motion will be required in the Scottish parliament,” she said. It’s hard to see Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon not making hay with that.

Such is the precariousness of May’s situation that any of her top team of ministers could oust her with one well-timed public intervention. “If DD [Brexit Secretary David Davis] said her lack of authority was stopping him negotiating Brexit she would be gone in minutes and he would be PM,” one senior former government aide said on condition of anonymity.[...]

Labour MP Wes Streeting gave the most brutal of many brutal put-downs during the debate on the queen’s speech. “She asked for a personal mandate in the election and didn’t get one,” he said to cheers. “The only question is, why is she still here?”

read the article