Nostalgia for the empire, perhaps.

Two days back British Prime Minister Theresa May was in Salzburg to persuade leaders of the other 27 nations that make up the European Union that her Chequers plan was the best way for Britain to leave the EU. The British contingent had hoped for a courteous reception of the plan, and were infuriated when the other leaders, led by Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and President Emanuel Macron of France, rejected the plan outright. "Mr Macron made it clear he wanted to punish Britain to dissuade other member states from heading for the EU's exit door. The French President branded pro-Brexit politicians as 'liars' adding: 'Brexit shows that it is not easy to leave the EU. It is not without costs. It is not without consequences." The genesis of the problem came last year when May called an early general election, hoping to increase her majority in the House of Commons which would have given her absolute authority to negotiate a Brexit agreement, but ended up losing her majority and having to hang on to power with the support of the Democratic Unionist Party, DUP, of Northern Ireland. The DUP is against a hard border between Northern Ireland, which is a part of the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland which is not only a member of the EU but also of the Eurozone. A suggestion that there should be a border in the sea between Northern Ireland and the rest of Britain has been rejected outright by the DUP and the British government, because it would seem like a division of Britain. Hence the Chequers Plan, which suggests that the UK would collect taxes for the EU far from the border so that there is no customs check at the land border to allow free movement of goods. However, the UK wants to stop free movement of people to reduce immigration so there will have to be immigration checks at the land border. The reason why the EU is taking a tough line against Britain is to scare the anti-EU government in Italy which wants to stop taking immigrants from Africa and wants other countries, like France, to take more of them, precipitating a very unpleasant war of words between the two governments. May has ruled out a second referendum on Brexit. Why? Before the referendum May was against a Brexit but is now adamant the Britain must get out of the EU saying that "a no deal for Britain is better than a bad deal for Britain". Which makes her a hypocrite. Brexiteers, led by Boris Johnson, claimed that Britain would save 350 million pounds by leaving the EU. Now that the real costs are becoming clear surely people should be given a second vote to decide it they want to undergo such hardship. Claiming one referendum is democracy but a second one is not is specious. May said angrily that the EU must make concessions. She must remember that Britain is no longer a superpower with an empire. Just a little island in the North Sea.