David Gauke: Oomph and optimism don’t always vanquish the doomsters and gloomsters

Here are six recent examples of how the Prime Minister has been mugged by reality.

Stephen Booth: Both sides must accept that substantive change is necessary for the Northern Ireland Protocol

The negative economic and political real-world consequences of implementing the Protocol cannot be what either intended.

Stephen Booth: Switzerland’s painstaking negotiations with the EU tell us a lot about our future relationship with Brussels

We can expect greater divergence, whether we like it or not, and should focus on our diplomatic relationships outside the bloc.

Trump, Parler, bias, free speech, incitement – and regulation. Beware of the cure being worse than the disease.

State action to regulate social media is unproblematic in principle, but deeply problematic in practice – and the law of unintended consequences applies.

The Deal in Detail 6): Law and Constitution

The fifth of a series of pieces from Policy Exchange looking at specific issues that arise from the Brexit trade deal.

Jacob Rees-Mogg: Now we will have what the British people really wanted – tariff and quota-free trade with the EU

As of Churchill, so perhaps of Johnson: “it was the nation…that had the lion’s heart …I had the luck to be called upon to give the roar.”

Richard Ritchie: Why I believe that Enoch Powell would have supported this Brexit trade deal

His archivist writes that this agreement has succeeded…in recovering powers which some thought had been lost permanently”.

Stephen Booth: This Agreement delivers both the UK and the EU’s main objectives. It gives us freedom – which comes at a price.

The first of a new series of pieces by Policy Exchange for ConservativeHome looking at the various issues that arise from the Brexit trade deal.

Matt Bevington: Barnier doesn’t need a new mandate to find compromises

The UK itself would not dream of changing its formal negotiating objectives at such a crucial point in the talks. Why would the EU?

Alexander Stafford: The tests that any Johnson Brexit deal must pass

They cover sovereignty, the UK-EU trading relationship, governance, and compliance with the 2019 Conservative Election Manifesto.

Martin Howe: Two critical questions Johnson must answer on any EU deal

Will we get back our sovereignty next year? Will the agreement be good in trade terms? I fear ministers may end up settling for thin gruel.

Daniel Hannan: Voters tend to get some things wrong, but the big things right. So it is with this Brexit Bill.

In a shrewd and largely instinctive way, they have sussed that Britain faces an ill-disposed negotiating partner making unreasonable demands.

Bernard Jenkin: If necessary, we must pass legislation that will nullify the direct effect and direct applicability of EU laws

It may be good tough talk to speak of breaking international law, but it does not engender respect.  His exact words were not even factually correct. 

Garvan Walshe: Breaking the Withdrawal Agreement risks the No Deal Brexit this Government was elected to avoid

The Tories’ plan will be blocked by the Lords, anyway, as it contradicts the party’s promise to implement the agreement made in November 2019.

Emily Barley: The Government’s Brexit plan puts us at risk of substandard and corrupt justice systems in EU member states

Britons were told the country would be leaving the dangerous European Arrest Warrant system, but its replacement looks suspiciously similar.