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Apparently a deal on the future relationship is getting closer. But before we all fall into the irrational joy of having a deal again, let’s quickly recap where we actually are (building on Anna’s tweets) (thread)
1) Again, as ever so often, this is an entirely internal negotiation. Conservatives and Labour hashing out a deal. So... this is a negotiation without any presence of the side we are actually negotiating with in theory... but...
2) That’s just as well (and by now we are used to this), because we are currently still in the withdrawal agreement stage. So what the negotiations are technically about is whether the political declaration about the future can be amended so that the WA goes through.
Doing this exercise as an internal debate comes with risks: the EU might not like some of the stuff. And then the PD has to be reworded vaguely enough that everyone is satisfied. Or, possibly, noone.
Which leads to 3) We have a procedural problem. It is a problem of treaty scrutiny. Parliament has the power to vote down the WA. But no formalised input in the negotiations. So ad hoc structures are developing. In a suboptimal way.
Whether those structures can deliver a compromise that is acceptable in the UK, but then also to the EU is an open question.
