Why Brexiteers aren’t backing down

Geoffrey Cox is in Brussels attempting to achieve a breakthrough on the backstop. So far, the Attorney General’s efforts have not gone entirely to plan – with the word in Brussels that the first night of talks with Michel Barnier went badly. If Cox cannot win a significant concession on the backstop that will allow him to change his legal advice, there is little chance of Theresa May’s deal passing next week. However, even if he is successful in his aim there’s a chance it won’t be enough to win over Tory eurosceptics.

As I write in the i paper, there is an increasing pessimism within the Cabinet that May can pass her deal next week. There are rebels returning to the fold, but at nothing like the speed that would be needed to reverse a 230-vote defeat. If May’s deal is rejected next Tuesday, she could become a mere placeholder, in office but not in power, as the Commons spends the rest of the week deciding whether to proceed with no deal or request an extension from the EU.