So....it seems
1. Deal wasn't nailed on for this afternoon - but talks have made progress in last few days, and it was time for a political shove that could have pushed things forward quite significantly
1. Deal wasn't nailed on for this afternoon - but talks have made progress in last few days, and it was time for a political shove that could have pushed things forward quite significantly
2. Remember Raab seeing Barnier much more regularly than Davis did, so was moment for that political involvement, not a question of getting out the lecterns to announce peace in our time
3. Raab + Barnier didn't have a row - but was clear 2 sides are stuck on how backstop can work - how it can be temporary, and how it can cover whole UK - political will wasn't there
4. EU side had felt PM might be ready to move towards them after she had talked of doing deal in 'national interest' - Thursday's Cabinet has obvs made things more fraught
5. Now, no talks planned until Barnier and May talk to EU leaders at summit on Weds night, altho negotiators obvs in place if there is something more to talk about
6. But if sherpas (senior officials) don't meet to draft something for leaders to agree, how can anything actually get done on Weds? And again, gap btw what No 10 negotiating team is doing at May's instruction + what is political possible is straining
7. And, last one, the strangest thing about all of this, is a lot of the objection at home is about something UK has ALREADY agreed to - but Brexiteers were told at the time, that old chestnut, nothing's agreed til everything is agreed - it's going to be quite a week
