I cannot weigh whether reason Downing Street is not pouring cold water on idea of extra year of Brexit transition is simply to avoid a conflict with rest of EU tonight over dinner, and prevent another Salzburg-style debacle. I assume that must be the reason. Because...
...her chief whip @JulianSmithUK presumably has advised her that if she were to adopt the additional year of what the Brexiters see as pure vassalage - without simultaneously scrapping backstop and Chequers - there would be...
... (in the words of one) "the mother of all explosions". At that instant "we would trigger a vote of no confidence in her". She might win that vote. But the damage would be devastating to her and her party's reputation from the formal outbreak of Tory civil war
