Brexit: A New Phase?

There are a number of optimistic sounds from both sides of the channel and from Ireland that agreement may be nearer than we think. If this is the case it will produce a step change in the whole Brexit drama and change too the nature of the political dynamic in the UK.

The reason for this conclusion is that from the very day of the referendum result there has been no clarity as to what Brexit meant. In principle yes, but not in detail. So if these hopes of agreement are realised, the whole country, Remainers and Leavers alike, will at last know where we are headed. And it is then that the real political battle will begin. For it is then than the deal will come before the Commons. Where the very survival of the government and perhaps even Brexit could well hang by a thread.