Thread by @FanaticRealist

@andreajenkyns tone-deaf question to @guyverhofstadt from last week's evidence to @CommonsEUexit rightly makes it into this article by @catherinemep. ➡️

independent.co.uk/voices/brexit-…

UK politicians - mainly Tory - have failed to understand that Brexit/A50 isn't a transactional "do this, get that" exercise in bartering and it never could be. Even if it were, May and her team went with an adversarial approach, playing to the Express/Mail gallery. ➡️

A50 was always going to played by the rules of the 'club' that the UK wanted to leave, which is basically working out how the UK would leave in accordance with its treaty obligations. And there's no "give to get" wiggle room in that. Nor should there be. ➡️

It's the process for ending the UK's 46-year relationship with the EU and it's predecessor cleanly, efficiently and without ambiguity. What it ISN'T is an opportunity for the UK to create a 'Heath Robinson' bodge so that Tory Brexiters can say claim they delivered a Brexit… ➡️

…in which the UK has all the benefits of being in the EU with no accountability, responsibilities or obligations.

That delusional aspiration is the only way Brexit could ever have worked; effectively a 'free lunch' of individually-harvested cherries from the EU tree. ➡️

If you surrender the keys to your car because you can no longer make the payments or don't like the car, you have to make the settlements demanded by the finance company based on the contract and that's the end of it. ➡️

You don't get to haggle with them and ask them if you can take out the stereo or maybe just use one of their fleet or demonstrators at no charge whilst you find another set of wheels with a company more to your liking. ➡️

You can try and disavow that agreement and say "it doesn't apply any more and there's nothing you can do", but that's going to land you in court and damage your credit rating.

I can't work out why @Conservatives think that's a good idea. ⏹️