As of this afternoon, we really are getting close to the endgame. Jean-Claude Juncker told reporters today: ‘If we have a deal we have a deal and there is no need for prolongation. That is the British view and that is my view too.’ According to the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, when asked what would happen if Boris’s deal didn’t pass, Juncker replied: ‘I hope it will. I am convinced it will. If it doesn’t there will be no prolongation.’
How untypical of the European Commission President to do the UK government a favour, but he has helped Boris immeasurably by suggesting a Commons vote on the latest withdrawal bill is a binary option, without Remain on the order paper.
If this is official EU policy, in one little remark to reporters, Juncker has blown the Surrender Act, or Benn Act, out of the water.
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