Tories buoyed by response to Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal

Is this the week Boris Johnson passes his Brexit deal? As ever with Brexit, there is a chance that what is meant to be a decisive week in terms of the UK’s exit from the European Union ends up leading to more delay and confusion. However, whatever happens in the coming days, senior Tories are increasingly relaxed. It’s not that ministers are confident they will be able to pass the Withdrawal Agreement Bill unscathed. Instead they believe Johnson’s deal puts the party in a good position for whatever comes next.

The risk to Johnson agreeing a deal before a general election was that senior Brexiteers in his own party would reject it – and decry it as Brino (Brexit in name only). This would put Johnson in a vulnerable position in any following general election with his Brexiteer credentials dented. However, he is yet to have a single Tory Brexiteer take to the airwaves to criticise the arrangement.