The people she wanted to influence are the Conservative MPs who hold her government’s future in their hands next Tuesday in the votes on her Brexit deal. It was not anything that can plausibly be presented as a tweak, let alone a renegotiation, of the Brexit deal – because such a thing is not on offer. In fact, these apparent concessions are already part of the Northern Ireland protocol in the withdrawal agreement. This is, though, to underestimate the pressures on Tory MPs. Mrs May’s concentration on the backstop in her interview confirms that ensuring the current frictionless border in Ireland has become the pivotal issue in the Brexit deal endgame.

Source: The Guardian December 06, 2018 18:45 UTC