We have had more time to chew over the "deal" reached yesterday and there is I think some sleight of hand going on although I confess I don't know who is doing the prestidigitation. Gisela Stuart (HERE) thinks the regulatory alignment the joint report talks about is single market membership in all but name.
Meanwhile, on social media and elsewhere people seem to think, as Gisela Stuart does albeit from a different perspective, that a soft Brexit is now more likely than we thought. The BBC's Kamal Ahmed tries to make sense of it HERE
So, a few observations. Firstly, there is a separate sixteen page "communication" (HERE) that explains the deal is not the Withdrawal agreement itself, it is simply a staging post to allow us to move onto the next stage.
Secondly, it is hardly a legally enforceable document anyway since it is quite contradictory on the Irish border and I'm not sure anybody really knows what is going on. An internal EU document said to be circulating yesterday says that they are finding it hard to reconcile (HERE) the UK's declared intention to leave the single market and the customs union with the document Theresa May signed yesterday.
Others have come to the same conclusion. But who is being tricked? Is the Irish government and the EU tricking the UK government? Is Mrs May tricking the hard Brexiteers in her cabinet? Is the government trying to fool the leave voters? Are we remainers being lulled into a false sense of security? Something is going on but I really do not know what.
Michael Gove (HERE) says voters can change the final deal at the next election if they want to. He says, "If the British people dislike the arrangement that we have negotiated with the EU, the agreement will allow a future government to diverge." An acknowledgement surely that the document points to a softer Brexit than many hard liners want or expect.
Most commentators seem to think the deal is a good one - for remainers that is or anyone keen on a soft Brexit. It's generally thought the hard Brexiteers would be angered by it and won't accept it. Yet Dominic Raab and Steve Baker have both appeared on TV today we!coming the agreement. There is an air of unreality about it all.
The only explanations I can think of are that either they are secret remainers or they have a secret cunning plan or they don't realise the implications of what was agreed today.
Given that Steve Baker seemed unaware of the EU's negotiating guidelines that were published on April 29th it wouldn't surprise me if they don't understand what happened today. It's odd that IDS, Rees-Mogg, Bernard Jenkins, Bill Cash, Peter Bone and the hard Brexiteers are strangely quiet.
They may think there are some untested, imaginative, technological solutions to solve the border conundrum but no one else thinks there are. If they're wrong the deal points to a very soft Brexit indeed. But let's wait before opening the champagne.
This morning I am off to a European Movement/Open Britain Day of Action (no less) in Howden. So no more for today, I'll post something tomorrow.
