Theresa May is right to think there’s more to life than Brexit

The general election in June changed the politics of Brexit in ways that some pro-Leave commentators are desperately trying to ignore but which anyone actually doing politics has now accepted: ‘no deal’ is not an option, because there is not a Commons majority that would accept the steep drop out of the EU onto the rocks of the jagged WTO rules below.

There certainly isn’t a majority in the country for that option, and a PM who tried to sell a ‘no deal’ Brexit would be asking for removal and possibly an election the Tories could lose. There will be a deal, in the end, because the Conservative Party, despite its fondness for self-harm, always stops short of full-blown suicide. Anyone who tries to tell you otherwise is either deluded or trying to mislead you. Or both.

Further, there may not even be a Commons majority for leaving the Single Market; transition via the EEA, assuming the UK can reach an agreement with the 27 on its financial obligations.