The Guardian view on no deal: Theresa May must expose it as a fantasy

There are too many Tories calling for no deal on the basis that the EU will not let us be stupid enough to do it. This is irresponsible gambling. The danger of no deal might have receded, but the threat of “no-dealism” as an ideological frame for looking at the UK’s relations with Europe is alive and well. It needs rebutting, and it needs rebutting by the prime minister. The few remaining grownups in the Tory party need to take on the ambitious colleagues who will say anything to appeal to the fanatical leaver grassroots, who, in the absence of a general election, will choose the next prime minister. Even if her very worst decision was to deploy the language she used about no deal, her second worst may have been to trigger a leadership contest where the winner will be chosen by those who believed her rhetoric.