Theresa May’s bungled Brexit backstop plan means that once again nothing has changed
The gathering of EU leaders in Brussels this week was supposed to bring clarity, not confusion, to the Brexit negotiations.
After the PR disaster of Salzburg, both sides needed to at least act like the talks were going in the right direction and a deal was doable.
But as with so much of the Brexit process, the best laid plans often go awry.
In what was surely a new low for the Prime Minister, May ended up effectively briefing against herself at a post-summit press conference yesterday as she tried to downplay a suggestion of extending the 21-month transition period.
Read more: Theresa May rows back from Brexit transition extension after Tory backlash
That suggestion had been made by May herself when she addressed EU leaders on Wednesday evening in an attempt to solve the Irish backstop issue.
The backstop is the insurance policy to keep the Northern Ireland/Ireland border invisible if the UK and EU don't have a trade deal ready to go by the time the transition deal expires in December 2020.
With the UK against the EU's Irish 'backstop' plan, and vice versa, extending the transition period is a further attempt to avoid a backstop ever needing to come into force.
The logic is that by extending the transition period, you extend the time to create the deal.
But seeing as the whole backstop row is about what should happen if no trade deal is reached, bolting on an extra 12 months to complete the negotiations doesn't change the fundamental concern of the Irish government of what the state of the border would be in the absence of an agreement.
No wonder the EU gave the offer a lukewarm reception, as, to repeat a now infamous political phrase, nothing has changed.
Read more: EU leaders did not discuss extending transition period, reveals Donald Tusk
The one thing May did succeed in doing was whipping up a storm back in Westminster, as Tory MP after Tory MP took to television and Twitter to cry foul over the suggestion.
While Brexiteers might be feeling angry, one Cabinet member will be closer to despair.
Having already asked him to find an extra £384m a week for the NHS and announced the end of austerity at the party conference, May has just floated the idea of another cheque Hammond will have to write: a further year of contributions to the EU.
Time to update that spreadsheet, Phil.