Brexit now?

Whew! This sigh of relief was perhaps heard around the UK after the General Election on 12 December. Boris Johnson achieved a healthy majority in the House of Commons, meaning that he could now pass legislation unhindered, including a vote on his Brexit deal. There we have it, ‘Brexit’, another untranslatable word that professional translation services have to deal with. It is actually a portmanteau of ‘British’ and ‘exit’.

Before the election, Britain endured three years of uncertainty as Theresa May tried desperately to get her deal through the House of Commons without an absolute majority. There were defections on both sides of the house, as some Labour MPs voted for the deal and some Conservatives refused to toe the party line and voted against. And no-one seemed to be able to talk about anything else! But her bills failed to pass, in spite of her trying out a number of slightly different versions, in a kind of Groundhog-Day succession.

Like him or not, Boris Johnson can now forge ahead with his policy, which is aimed at the UK leaving the EU. Even so, the process is likely to take years. But at least it can get started.

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