transitional deal

May is hiding truth about next stage of her Brexit deal: two-year transition merely postpones cliff edge to 2021. We’ll need at least five.

With one flip-flop after another, PM’s deal with EU leaders is far cry from bullish Lancaster House vision. Here’s our definitive run-down.

PM clings to fiction that we can cut an FTA by March 2019. By pretending impossible can happen, she’s messing up Brexit and damaging us all.

That’s what firms are crying out for. But divisions in government will probably mean transition gets bogged down in confrontational detail.

May made string of climb-downs in her Florence speech. It’s good she’s bowing to reality but in process she’s destroying case for Brexit.

We can still stay in the EU, but only if we pull together. Despite achieving tactical victories, we have largely wasted the past year.

As talks falter and global trade deals slip further into the future, the government must get real over trade continuity after March 2019.

As Brexit talks resume, David Davis must answer some tough questions about his “fairy-tale” trade proposals.

Whatever restrictions the UK puts on EU countries they can be expected to reciprocate - whether it’s work visas, airport checks or fishing.

Contrary to the hopes of some rosy-eyed remainers, cabinet consensus around a transition period makes a hard Brexit likelier.

During the summer break, the government needs to think harder about the ultimate destination towards which Britain is being taken – slowly or otherwise.

Brinkmanship in Brussels threatens to undermine business confidence and discourage essential investment.