gulliver; //Of course the leaving date can be extended, I am sure the rest of the member states would welcome the idea with open arms.//
You do show your political naivety so readily. Do you really think that if the UK went begging to the EU for an extension, that at least one (and I can think of more) would not say, "Yes we'll agree, but at a price", for example, something like Gibraltar suddenly springs to mind.
Through the pathetic performances of Theresa May, Hammond et al, the UK already looks ridiculous enough, going pleading for an extension to article 50 would make our handling look even more farcical - if that's even possible.
The UK is badly in need of a new PM, and pronto!