A Brexit trade deal that takes back control

Or so it really seems – which is a personal coup for Johnson. Churchill walked with destiny.  Today, the Prime Minister, in his serio-comic way, is winking at it.

Our Cabinet League Table feels the Brexit Trade Deal Bounce

Johnson is up to ninth from fifth from bottom, Gove jumps up to near the top quarter, Hancock is clearer from the relegation zone – and Truss stays top.

Johnson’s rating for dealing with Covid rises in our latest survey

And the Government’s own standing moves into the black for the first time since our August poll.

A key to Johnson’s historic triumph over Europe has been always to take the least risky option

And a measure of his achievement to date is the channelling of a new patriotic populism into an established political vehicle.

Brady is our Panel’s backbencher of the year

The 1922 Executive Committee Chairman has established himself on Covid almost as a kind of leader of the internal opposition.

Our survey. Tory activists give Johnson’s Brexit Trade Deal an early thumbs-up.

Three in five said it was a win for the UK, with one in three reserving judgement – and under one in ten declaring it a win for the EU.

It’s two day’s debate only for the Brexit Trade Bill as the Speaker urges MPs to stay away from Westminster.

That’s two days for Commons, Lords and Royal Assent. Virtual participation is being encouraged. Seventy-five per cent of MPs have a proxy vote.

“It restores Britain’s sovereignty in full.” David Frost’s Twitter thread on the Brexit trade agreement.

We hail the commitment of Frost and Oliver Lewis to their negotiating brief. Without them, this deal is unlikely to have reached its final form.

The Conservative MPs who misread Johnson, were willing to end his career over Brexit – and ended their own instead

This is not the first time that the Prime Minister has been misread by opponents who deluded themselves into believing he was set on No Deal.

Farage declares that “the war is over”

For the second time in a year, the Brexit Party leader has ridden in behind the Prime Minister – for whom this news is a big plus.

The Christmas Eve Agreement

Johnson should be praised for getting a deal at all – once again. But as matters stand, MPs won’t be able properly to consider it.

If the Lords is to be representative of the Commons, LibDem peers should be culled

Lord Fowler has identified the right problem in the wake of yesterday’s appointments but advanced the wrong solution.

ConservativeHome columnist Hannan to become a peer

Congratulations to him, and also to two other regular contributors – Syed Kamall, another former Tory MEP, and Dean Godson of Policy Exchange.

T.I.N.A

Vaccines, the new Covid strain and the absence of a proven alternative policy combine to leave Johnson with little choice but to follow the path he is taking.

Perfect Christmas Storm

Part-closed borders, an unresolved Brexit negotiation, a new strain of Covid – the interplay between these is perilous and Parliament should be recalled.