Was Tuesday's cabinet meeting a far more significant event than we thought? There was apparently an almighty row (HERE) but perhaps for Brexiteer ministers it was sparked by the growing realisation of the pickle they are in. The NAO report (HERE) warning about the lack of preparedness for exiting the EU next March effectively closed the no deal option off. The report laid bare the fantasy that no deal is better than a bad one. The government will have to stop the charade about leasing ships and generators to cope with a hard Brexit.
Let's assume the cabinet, for all their collective stupidity, know that a hard Brexit is now impossible, even if they won't admit it publicly. This means they need a deal - any deal to get the transition period and give more breathing space. Some, like Michael Gove, had been suggesting we could negotiate something to ensure we leave next March, but then immediately after Brexit begin renegotiating a new and better deal. The Attorney General, Geoffrey Cox, has now poured cold water on that idea. He says the deal will be almost impossible to get out of (HERE). That option is also now closed.
This is the moment perhaps when the cabinet Brexiteers realised they have run out of options. They are travelling downhill on black ice, the brakes are hard on, the wheels are locked, the steering wheel doesn't work and a wall with reality written on it in large letters is coming towards them. It's the horrible moment you realise an accident is unavoidable.
Probably for the first time since the referendum itself they are recognising the weak position we are in. It was for some, a moment of truth. The accident is in very slow motion so the actual collision is still a few weeks away, when the deal is finally published. The extent of the national, and personal, humiliation will be clear make no mistake.
All they're probably concerned about now at an individual level, is bracing for impact and finding a way to present the accident as a great success. That multi year transition with more "huge" sums of money due and no votes? It's ideal of course. The Irish backstop signed up to in perpetuity? Perfect. A standard free trade deal like Canada? Just what we always wanted. Frictionless trade? Well, no but that's not a problem is it?
Of course, one or two ministers might scramble out before the inevitable coming together, recognising the nation is going to end up as a Cat D write off, but it will not be possible for anyone in this country to forget the small group of cabinet ministers who were in charge when the collision took place. And as John Major said recently, they will never be forgiven. We have had hubris, now nemesis awaits.
