The irony of the stalemate in the cross-party Brexit talks is that Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn are not that far apart on the issue, as I say in The Sun this morning. They might use different language, but what they want is really quite similar.
But while they may not be that far apart, their parties are. A deal would require not one of them, but both of them to be prepared to split their parties.
If Theresa May was to soften her deal to try and get Labour support, she would exacerbate the divide within her own party. I am told that in the talks, the government has tried to point out to Labour that the deal does, in the backstop, effectively include a customs union. But Labour has been insistent that the phrase ‘permanent customs union’ must be in any deal. Why, because they know that by removing any ambiguity on this point they divide the Tories.
One figure close to the talks tells me that Labour has two objectives in these discussions, to maximise Tory divisions and minimise Labour ones.
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