And we’re back to Brexit with a bump. After a brief pause in the negotiations and legislation, the government has this afternoon been defeated on a customs union amendment in the Lords. The defeat was by no means minor either – peers voted by 348 to 225 in favour of a plan requiring ministers to report on steps to negotiate a continued EU-UK customs union.
This in itself isn’t catastrophic for Theresa May. When the bill returns to the Commons it will most likely be thrown out – and besides it only binds the government to report on the steps being taken to negotiate a customs union so there is wriggle room regardless.
However, the scale of the defeat points to a bigger problem with the government’s strategy. May and her ministers are yet to convince many in their own party – let alone the Opposition – that the best form of Brexit is one outside the customs union.
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