James Forsyth James Forsyth

Why the Tory Brexiteers are swallowing May’s compromises

This week, Theresa May got her Brexit inner Cabinet to agree that, in the event of no trade deal being in place by December 2020, the UK would continue to apply the EU’s common external tariff. In The Sun this morning, I try and explain why Brexiteers aren’t kicking off about this and the other concessions May is making, or preparing to make.

One influential figure puts it to me like this, ‘it is all very unsatisfactory, but it is what it is’. In other words, given the mistakes that have been made—with the lack of proper no deal planning and the backstop–there isn’t really an alternative.

The other reason is that the view among several of the most important Brexiteers is that they can’t get what they want at the moment, so they should play it long.

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