Trump Uses The Brexit Playbook

Trump said North Korea was demanding too much and offering too little, and in the end he decided no deal was better than a bad deal https://t.co/ltrPpwk6jc

— Josh Smith (@joshjonsmith) February 28, 2019

EU Offers Get Out of Jail Card

Brussels to offer UK a 'get out of jail card' linked to backstop review clause to help May's deal pass Parliament. EU source says: 'You'd need to do it [leave] through a process but, nevertheless, it'd make it clear there’s a destiny beyond the backstop.' https://t.co/SKRlf4ZUeH

— Nick Gutteridge (@nick_gutteridge) February 27, 2019

Theresa May's Ides of March Strategy

I would concur. However, bearing in mind it is to be held around the Ides of March, who is Caesar and who is Brutus?

— Ken Frost (@ken_frost) February 26, 2019

Corbyn's Volte Farce Adds To The Confusion

Labour in danger of overturning an election promise to respect the 2016 Referendum result. We can’t ignore millions of Labour Leave voters. There are Labour MPs like me who will not support a second ref. @jeremycorbyn give us a free vote so Labour MPs can keep their promises

— Caroline Flint (@CarolineFlintMP) February 25, 2019

May Postpones The Meaningless Vote

The Meaningless Vote has been postponed to 13 March.

The Elusive Key To Pandora's Box

Jeremy Hunt says that getting the AG to change his legal advice is the 'key to unlocking' support for deal in Parliament:

'If we can get the deal through Parliament, if we can have a deal where AG changes his advice on the backstop, that's going to be the key to unlocking it'

— Steven Swinford (@Steven_Swinford) February 20, 2019

Deadlines Focus Minds

PM was this afternoon warned by Amber Rudd, David Gauke, Greg Clark & David Mundell she faces resignation of 22 ministers & members of Govt over no-deal Brexit

In a meeting in No 10 they urged her to publicly commit to extending A50 in the event a deal cannot be reached

— Steven Swinford (@Steven_Swinford) February 18, 2019

An extension, other than to sort out administrative issues, is utterly pointless and merely prolongs the agony.

The only way that this will be resolved is for the cretins in Westminster to have their tiny minds focused by a deadline that is fixed!

Dutch Government Launches Brexit Muppet

Oh my God... The Dutch government has finally unveiled its Brexit muppet... pic.twitter.com/C5O9JxTIH3

— Danny Kemp (@dannyctkemp) February 14, 2019

There Is a Solution But.....

1/ EU countries are ready to help May drag out the Brexit talks until March 21, when they will try to stitch together a last minute compromise on the backstop at a summit here in Brussels. Here's some of the latest thinking on how that might all pan out 👇https://t.co/PkE7ZzePJc

— Nick Gutteridge (@nick_gutteridge) February 12, 2019

Read the thread, and you can see that there is a good chance that there will be a reasonable solution to this.

However, there is one fly in the ointment..

I GUARANTEE THAT MANY OF THE MPs COMPLAINING ABOUT THE AGREEMENT HAVE NOT ACTUALLY READ IT!

Olly's Bar Room Banter

Stephen Barclay says Olly Robbins claim PM would present MPs with her deal or a long delay to Brexit were ‘second hand comments in a noisy bar’ and do not reflect Govt policy

— Steven Swinford (@Steven_Swinford) February 13, 2019

Hold Your Nerve Whilst May Runs Down The Clock

PM will MPs to 'hold their nerve' - she may need to, so might you.... no one round here expecting quick fixes to the ongoing dilemmas despite time running out https://t.co/tO1GPTnP3E

— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) February 12, 2019

Theresa's Guessing Game

NEW: Theresa May letter to Jeremy Corbyn

- Luke warm defence leaving customs union cd discomfort brexiteers 🧨
- TM admits frictionless trade will be “negotiating challenge” 😱
- Leaves door open to working with Corbyn: but how will more brexit inclined Tories feel about this?🤬 pic.twitter.com/S0A9f02cY7

— Sam Coates Times (@SamCoatesTimes) February 10, 2019

Who Is Napoleon?

 MPs are drawing comparisons between Brexit & the French Revolution. Roles have been assigned: Gove as Brissot; Boris as Danton; Rees-Mogg as Robespierre, the arch radical pursuing a “Republic of Virtue.” Lurking off stage, unknown & unassigned: Napoleon https://t.co/VBcfG1XlAM

— Tom McTague (@TomMcTague) February 11, 2019

The Odd Couple

There Will Be a Deal

There will be a deal that will achieve enough cross party support to squeak through parliament.

How?

Maximum credible "boeuf" will be added to the political declaration to ensure that trade talks are fast tracked, thereby negating the need for the backstop to be invoked.

— Ken Frost (@ken_frost) February 7, 2019

A Little Boeuf Goes a Long Way

Commission gives Juncker-May readout. May suggested legally binding changes to backstop. Juncker 'underlined' EU won't reopen Agreement. But he said EU is ready to beef up Political Declaration. Talks were 'robust but constructive'. UK & EU negotiating teams will restart talks.

— Nick Gutteridge (@nick_gutteridge) February 7, 2019

Tusk's Special Place In Hell

Does Tusk's hell come with a time limited backstop?

BTW, 
he is wrong, 
there was a plan 
and that was...

TO LEAVE THE EU!

Details Details Details

This morning David Davis and Greg Hands are launching a proposed Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the UK and the EU post- Brexit. Here it is: pic.twitter.com/cdPx1KzSEW

— Laura Hughes (@Laura_K_Hughes) February 6, 2019

"Good and services.."?????

V Day

Greg Clark names Valentine's Day as the deadline for concluding a deal - or presumably extending negotiations. Otherwise firms exporters to the Far East will be plunged into chaos

— steve hawkes (@steve_hawkes) February 6, 2019

Brighton Ready for Brexit

All police leave cancelled for a month after Brexit https://t.co/g4CfNCwTnK pic.twitter.com/F3aiycB2DW

— Jo Wadsworth (@BrightonNewsJo) February 6, 2019

There Will Be No Customs Delays

As per the FT:

"Goods shipped to Britain from the EU will be waved through UK ports without checks for a temporary period if there is a no deal Brexit, HM Revenue & Customs announced on Monday. 

In a move aimed at reducing gridlock at UK ports if Britain leaves the EU without a deal, HMRC said it would introduce “simplified importing procedures” for an initial period of one year. In a letter to 145,000 VAT-registered companies, the UK’s tax collection agency said that, under its plans, companies transporting goods into the UK would be able to defer making a full declaration until after the goods had crossed the border. 

Companies would also be able to defer paying any duty until the month after import."

As I noted the other day, the laws of man can be changed at the stroke of bureaucrat's pen as HMRC have just proven!

Stuart Wheeler Nails It!

Concerns about a no-deal Brexit are the same as the over-the-top worries about the so-called "Millennium bug" in 1999, spread betting millionaire Stuart Wheeler says in today's @telegaph @lettersdesk pic.twitter.com/tg2GRbozak

— Christopher Hope (@christopherhope) February 5, 2019