Re: What possible delay?
"it must be a genuine cancellation, and not simply a tool to delay brexit by using the fact it can be done unilaterally (which delaying cannot) and then triggering article 50 again later."
The main problem here is political.
If we wished, we could say we were cancelling Brexit and holding another referendum (preferably binding and with real details on what the game plan would be). It would effectively be a delay while we were asking the people to decide how to proceed, but it would be a cancellation and therefore compatible.
However, the problem comes from the "people" (OK, a vocal subset of half the people) who would see it as a real cancellation and "subverting the will of the people". They would shout and scream that their One True Brexit was being taken away from them, and unfortunately we can't just take them to one side and whisper "Ssssh, this is all just a trick! You'll get your Brexit but we need more time to stop it completely destroying the country."
Biting the hand that feeds IT
