Thread by @jonworth

I see some well known people - including the 🇬🇧 Foreign Secretary and the BBC's Political Editor - are struggling a bit with their #Brexit terminology today

So here's a terminology guide that is as simple as possible.

1/10

DEAL means there is a piece of paper (or, to be precise, more like 600 pages) that both 🇬🇧 and 🇪🇺 agree and sign, and is OKed by the institutions on both sides, by 31st December.

Were this agreed it would be the basis for 🇬🇧-🇪🇺 relations medium term.

2/10

NO DEAL means there is no piece of paper agreed and signed by 🇬🇧 and 🇪🇺 by 31st December.

Unlike a DEAL, we do not know how long this NO DEAL (or perhaps better NO DEAL PERIOD) would last. Weeks? Months?

3/10

NO DEAL is not a permanent or even semi permanent state. It would most likely be followed by a deal of some sort, but how that deal (POST NO DEAL DEAL) would look some months from now may differ from *the* DEAL that could be agreed now.

4/10

A CANADA DEAL or a CANADA STYLE DEAL is just about acceptable shorthand for the DEAL that is currently on the table - i.e. it is roughly similar to the deal 🇪🇺 has with 🇨🇦.

5/10

An AUSTRALIA DEAL or an AUSTRALIA STYLE DEAL is a fallacy

🇬🇧 has no overarching agreement with 🇦🇺, neither does 🇪🇺. The term is used by some to make a NO DEAL sound palatable, but given it contains the word 'deal' but as there is no paper to sign it is not a deal.

*avoid*

6/10

SIDE DEAL or PARTIAL DEAL means one or more smaller, narrower agreements than the DEAL & that could be struck between 🇬🇧 & 🇪🇺, presumably to apply after 1st Jan (although theoretically before). Both 🇬🇧 and 🇪🇺 would have to agree to these, and 🇪🇺 has refused them until now.

7/10

CONTINGENCY MEASURES are limited, unilateral, time limited legislative proposals by 🇪🇺 to overcome short term disruption in a NO DEAL scenario. Some parts would only work if 🇬🇧 agreed to them - on a take-it-or-leave-it basis.

8/10

There is nothing to stop 🇬🇧 proposing its own CONTINGENCY MEASURES but this has not yet happened.

CONTINGENCY MEASURES (🇪🇺 ones, or theoretical 🇬🇧 ones) are not to be confused with SIDE DEAL or PARTIAL DEAL.

9/10

In short: these terms are not always as straightforward as we might like, but getting them right is important to understand what is going on.

And I'd not want anyone to *not* understand of course.

10/10