Thread by @SimonFraser00

1/6: Word on the street is that common sense is breaking out & government may be privately recognising that #Brexit negotiations now need to be postponed & transition extended beyond end December. This was always the right answer: here are 5 reasons why it is now doubly right...

2/6: Bandwidth. All UK & EU efforts should be devoted to tackling the massive #COVID crisis. Senior ministers & officials cannot have enough time now for the crucial business of deciding our long term relationship with #EU. And don’t forget #COP26 climate conference in Nov..

3/6: Practical. Travel suspensions are likely to last for months. Virtual negotiating is unsatisfactory. How do you read body language & do the private deal in the corridor? Also harder to coordinate large teams. And presumably key individuals will get ill along the way..

4/6: Economic. Business in UK & EU is facing the greatest challenge in decades. We should remove one huge area of uncertainty we have control over. Asking business to run the gauntlet of #Brexit uncertainty & possible #nodeal later this year would be madness.

5/6: Future of trade. This #COVID crisis is likely radically to alter attitudes to global cross-border trade & supply chains. It would be foolish to set in concrete a deal giving us much reduced access to our biggest next-door market before assimilating this change.

6/6: Political. Some may criticise the government for back-tracking on the #Brexit timetable. But voters will not forgive ministers if they gratuitously create more chaos after #COVID. Circumstances have changed & the stakes are higher. We need the best answer, not the quickest.