Time for UK MPs to eschew narrow interests on Brexit for nation's sake

THE bus is hurtling down the highway at breakneck speed, its passengers uneasy, some are downright scared. With one final jolt, it careens off the road, injuring many. In the aftermath, survivors recall their unease before the bus went out of control but felt helpless to do anything about it.

This accident scenario is one of a number of analogies and metaphors that have emerged for Brexit, with millions of UK residents quite helpless at the prospect of the country crashing out of EU in reckless fashion.

The UK is scheduled to leave the EU on March 29. There appears to be no time left to come up with an alternative deal to the one that was roundly defeated in Parliament in January. British Prime Minister Theresa May says that she will try to get a better deal from the EU but her critics have charged that she is merely running down the clock by putting new wine in old skins and presenting it as a new plan.