What's the betting now?

[SimonMac]

Hang on, I thought Brexit was sorted?

[Old Greg]

Hang on, I thought Brexit was sorted?

Yes. Now the UK is just reaping the benefits.

[d000hg]

So, Coronavirus has slowed things down (almost to a standstill) and the EU have got much bigger fish to fry. Do you think that means they'll just stick with take-it-or-leave-it soft Brexit on the grounds they just can't be bothered any more, or will they cave in and let Cummings have his Canada+++ because ... they just can't be bothered any more?

My suspicion is Cummings will refuse to delay. Despite making poor decisions and generally appearing even more of a buffoon than normal, Boris's approval ratings are sky high. This 'Tally-Ho/We'll fight them on the Beaches' plays really well with Homo Brexitis. And of course if GDP goes down 2-5% and productivity falls even further behind, the Conservatives have got the perfect camouflage.

So I'm with hard Brexit end of December. Strap on your safety belts...

It's hard to find where to start when a post is wrong on just about every point AND displays such partisan, daft viewpoints.

So ignoring all that to focus on the central question... the government's extremely healthy majority means the more extreme factions like ERG are no longer driving policy. Boris is not an ardant no-deal fanatic and his party will want a good outcome even if he were.
CV is the perfect opportunity to extend talks without losing face. You just throw words like 'unprecedented' around to justify it. It's clearly far too early to be hinting at that to the media but it seems pretty likely given neither side wants a bad deal and both sides have an excellent excuse that absolves them of blame for a delay.

[Cirrus]

Boris is not an ardant no-deal fanatic and his party will want a good outcome even if he were.

It's hard to find where to start when a post is wrong on just about every point AND displays such partisan, daft viewpoints

Well it's not too hard actually. It's touching that you think Boris could have a position on this. It's touching you think he has the slightest idea about the difference between his arse and his elbow.

Homo Brexitis love him but the Government, such as it is, is run by Dominic Cummings.

Cummings drove the whole Brexit thing and although a bit simplistic he fully realises that Brexit means Brexit. And he fully wants that. He loathes existing bureaucracies. For him the only 'good outcome' is total ditching of any of the constraints of the EU.

[darmstadt]

It's hard to find where to start when a post is wrong on just about every point AND displays such partisan, daft viewpoints.

So ignoring all that to focus on the central question... the government's extremely healthy majority means the more extreme factions like ERG are no longer driving policy. Boris is not an ardant no-deal fanatic and his party will want a good outcome even if he were.
CV is the perfect opportunity to extend talks without losing face. You just throw words like 'unprecedented' around to justify it. It's clearly far too early to be hinting at that to the media but it seems pretty likely given neither side wants a bad deal and both sides have an excellent excuse that absolves them of blame for a delay.

The UK government won't extend and have said so numerous times in the past few weeks, including this week. Talks resume next week and there will be no extension unless the EU decide to request one but that will require and act of Parliament

[BlasterBates]

Boris believes his own propaganda.

[darmstadt]

Today's latest comment from no. 10:

We will not ask to extend the transition. And, if the EU asks, we will say no. Extending the transition would simply prolong the negotiations, prolong business uncertainty, and delay the moment of control of our borders. It would also keep us bound by EU legislation at a point where we need economic and legislative flexibility to manage the UK response to the coronavirus pandemic.

[Cirrus]

Unsurprisingly, Cummings has restated he won't obey any rules. So that leaves us with no-deal or with the EU caving in and giving the UK loads of Brexit privileges, perhaps in return for keeping the fishing status quo. However both have problems: the EU don't look to be weakening and UK Industry may put up a big fight. Still, difficult to call...

[d000hg]

It's hard to find where to start when a post is wrong on just about every point AND displays such partisan, daft viewpoints

It's touching you consider my words worth repeating but I'm not partisan. Maybe look the word up eh?

Well it's not too hard actually. It's touching that you think Boris could have a position on this. It's touching you think he has the slightest idea about the difference between his arse and his elbow.

Homo Brexitis love him but the Government, such as it is, is run by Dominic Cummings.

Sure, OK. Plus 5G causes CV.

Boris worked hard on his dumb buffoon act, well enough to fool you it seems. And repeating stupid phrases like "homo brexitus" doesn't make them any less stupid. I'm sure you're dreadfully pleased with the phrase.

[d000hg]

The UK government won't extend and have said so numerous times in the past few weeks, including this week. Talks resume next week and there will be no extension unless the EU decide to request one but that will require and act of Parliament

May said over and over again there would be no extension. I rather feel Boris said the same. Repeating the same thing over and over again is what negotiators and governments DO. It doesn't mean that's what will happen; it doesn't even mean that's what they WANT to happen neccessarily.