Brexit: May hints UK could accept extended transition – as it happened

17 Oct 201818.25 EDT

Patrick Greenfield

I’m afraid we are bringing today’s Brexit excitement to an end. Thanks for following developments with us. We really appreciate your comments.

These are the must-reads about Wednesday’s Brexit news:

Heather Stewart, Daniel Boffey and Jennifer Rankin report that Theresa May has hinted that the UK could extend the Brexit transition period to allow more time for trade talks, but dismayed leaders at a crunch Brussels summit by failing to offer any new ideas to break the impasse over the Irish border.

Rajeev Syal and Heather Stewart report that the Brexit withdrawal agreement must either be accepted or rejected by MPs and should not automatically be subjected to amendments, according to a letter and a memorandum released by the government.

Kim Willsher, Jon Henley and Kate Connolly write that Germany and France are starting to step up their preparations for a no-deal Brexit even though both publicly insist an agreement with the UK over the terms of its departure from the EU can still be achieved.

Have a peaceful evening.

Here’s some Christmas cheer from Sky News’ political editor Faisal Islam about the political deadline in Brexit negotiations to meet the March 29th deadline.

The conservative StandUp4Brexit campaign has added another member to its ranks tonight. The group, backed by former Brexit secretary David Davis, supports a Canada+++ deal with the EU.

“The problem isn’t Brexit, the problem is the prime minister,” the former UKIP leader Nigel Farage tells BBC’s Newsnight. “We may never leave the European Union properly. This is a betrayal of Brexit.”

He’s not happy.

The vice-president of the European Parliament Mairead McGuinness tells Newsnight that the UK “didn’t understand the difficulties and consequences” of Brexit when it had the vote, adding “let’s try and keep some optimism but this could still go wrong.”

Damien Green says the extra year of transition would “solve some problems but not others,” adding that “there are two big problems” with May’s plan. Green says the Irish backstop issue still does not go away and the UK could have to pay the EU an extra year of contributions to the bloc’s budget.

Damien Green, the vice-president of the European Parliament Mairead McGuinness, Ken Clarke and Nigel Farage are on Newsnight this evening.

It won’t be dull. I’ll tell you about the most important developments.

The Guardian’s Heather Stewart, Daniel Boffey and Jennifer Rankin have written up this evening’s developments.

Theresa May has hinted that the UK could extend the Brexit transition period to allow more time for trade talks, but dismayed leaders at a crunch Brussels summit by failing to offer any new ideas to break the impasse over the Irish border, they report.

Read the full piece here:

Meanwhile, the Daily Mail’s Thursday front page is up. They’re not impressed.

Here’s the first sign of open Tory hostility to May’s apparent openness to an extended Brexit transition period.

Conservative MP Nadine Dorries said it was time for the prime minister to stand aside and allow “someone who can negotiate to get on with it”, tweeting her support for David Davis as an interim leader. “I’ve done my bit. It’s time for my colleagues to do theirs.” she added.

This from the Guardian’s Brussels correspondent Jennifer Rankin.

ITV’s Robert Peston, also.

The Guardian’s economics correspondent Richard Partington is listening to the international trade secretary Liam Fox speak this evening at Mansion House in London.

The EU27 leaders have finished their turbot fillets and fig, pear and grape sorbets. Theresa May will hear back from them at a meeting tomorrow morning, Donald Tusk’s spokesperson confirms.

17 Oct 201816.28 EDT

Analysis: DUP unhappy with May's Brexit transition extension stance

Lisa O'Carroll

Here’s some snap analysis from Lisa O’Carroll, the Guardian’s Brexit correspondent.

While Theresa May’s position appears to have melted a little tonight, the DUP has not reacted positively to an extension of the transition period, not because they are ideologically opposed to that but because it does not address the issue of the border in the Irish sea, they say.

Here’s DUP MEP Diane Dodds comments, retweeted by party leader Arlene Foster.

Earlier Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar said he was open to the transition period being extended but said the backstop would still be required.

The idea of a link between the withdrawal agreement, which is legally binding and which would contain the backstop, being linked to the future political declaration which would include the customs arrangements, has been floating in Brexit circles for weeks.

What appears to be new is talk that the customs arrangements could make their way into the withdrawal agreement too by way of a link the backstop.

This was known as the “bridge” solution, earlier this summer described as the “conjoined twins” solution. It is not new. It has been around since July, but as an inchoate idea, so complicated, nobody seems to have been able to explain how it would work.