Tom Clark
Life, it is often said, hangs by a thread. Liberal democracy certainly does. One day in sleepy late August, No 10 announced that a parliament confronting almighty questions and a tight legal deadline would be suspended for several weeks. Downing Street also told journalists that if MPs passed a no-confidence vote the prime minister would not resign, but would instead force through a divisive no-deal Brexit, and only then go to the country—after the irreversible deed was done.