Imagine two teenagers siblings who don't want to live with their parents anymore, they hate all the rules they have to follow in their house.

(1) What exactly does leaving the EU entail? Just writing some letter announcing that EU tariff agreements will no longer be honored?

They could just leave the house indeed [hard Brexit]. The youngest sibling just wants this, but the oldest one realizes the risks: no food, no money [the UK strongly depends on trade with the EU].

(2) If voters in the UK chose to leave the EU (what years ago??), why have the concrete steps from (1) not been done?

For the past three years the two siblings have been fighting about their plan: just walk away assuming that kind strangers will provide for them [negotiate new trade deals with other countries], or stay in good terms with the parents and keep their allowance? [accepting some of the EU rules in order to maintain prosperity]

(3) Does the current prime minister want to leave the EU or not? If yes, what prevents the prime minister from unilaterally disavowing whatever harebrained treaties constitute the bond with continental Europe?

To keep with the metaphor, it's as if the prime minister has a double personality disorder: she hears the two teenagers voices in her head and she keeps trying to satisfy both of them. She fails, because it's impossible.

Imagine two teenage siblings who don't want to live with their parents anymore. They hate all the rules they have to follow in their house.

(1) What exactly does leaving the EU entail? Just writing some letter announcing that EU tariff agreements will no longer be honored?

They could just leave the house indeed [hard Brexit]. The youngest sibling just wants this, but the oldest one realizes the risks: no food, no money [the UK strongly depends on trade with the EU].

(2) If voters in the UK chose to leave the EU (what years ago??), why have the concrete steps from (1) not been done?

For the past three years the two siblings have been fighting about their plan: just walk away assuming that kind strangers will provide for them [negotiate new trade deals with other countries], or stay in good terms with the parents and keep their allowance? [accepting some of the EU rules in order to maintain prosperity]

(3) Does the current prime minister want to leave the EU or not? If yes, what prevents the prime minister from unilaterally disavowing whatever harebrained treaties constitute the bond with continental Europe?

To keep with the metaphor, it's as if the prime minister has a double personality disorder: she hears the two teenagers' voices in her head and she keeps trying to satisfy both of them. She fails, because it's impossible.

Imagine two teenagers siblings who don't want to live with their parents anymore, they hate all the rules they have to follow in their house.

(1) What exactly does leaving the EU entail? Just writing some letter announcing that EU tariff agreements will no longer be honored?

They could just leave the house indeed [hard Brexit]. The youngest sibling just wants this, but the oldest one realizes the risks: no food, no money [the UK strongly depends on trade with the EU].

(2) If voters in the UK chose to leave the EU (what years ago??), why have the concrete steps from (1) not been done?

For the past three years the two siblings have been fighting about their plan: just walk away, or stay in good terms with the parents and keep their allowance? [the latter involves accepting some of the EU rules in order to maintain prosperity]

(3) Does the current prime minister want to leave the EU or not? If yes, what prevents the prime minister from unilaterally disavowing whatever harebrained treaties constitute the bond with continental Europe?

To keep with the metaphor, it's as if the prime minister has a double personality disorder: she hears the two teenagers voices in her head and she keeps trying to satisfy both of them. She fails, because it's impossible.

Imagine two teenagers siblings who don't want to live with their parents anymore, they hate all the rules they have to follow in their house.

(1) What exactly does leaving the EU entail? Just writing some letter announcing that EU tariff agreements will no longer be honored?

They could just leave the house indeed [hard Brexit]. The youngest sibling just wants this, but the oldest one realizes the risks: no food, no money [the UK strongly depends on trade with the EU].

(2) If voters in the UK chose to leave the EU (what years ago??), why have the concrete steps from (1) not been done?

For the past three years the two siblings have been fighting about their plan: just walk away assuming that kind strangers will provide for them [negotiate new trade deals with other countries], or stay in good terms with the parents and keep their allowance? [accepting some of the EU rules in order to maintain prosperity]

(3) Does the current prime minister want to leave the EU or not? If yes, what prevents the prime minister from unilaterally disavowing whatever harebrained treaties constitute the bond with continental Europe?

To keep with the metaphor, it's as if the prime minister has a double personality disorder: she hears the two teenagers voices in her head and she keeps trying to satisfy both of them. She fails, because it's impossible.