By Ben Kerrigan-
A Brexit deal between the Uk and EU bosses could struck as early as November, Barnier has said
Top Brussels diplomats have confirmed that the UK, and other European Union officials expect a deal to be finalised by November and present the deal at a yet-to-be arranged summit before the end of the year. All is speculation at this stage, and until something concrete is agreed, there is no saying how this will end. Iy seems almost certain that some kind of deal will be struck this year, that is within the next few months.The uncertainty is whether the deal will be positive and in the ebst interest of the British people.
Britain and the EU are now working closely to get the deal addressed thoroughly, leaving no stones unturned. Officials claim the withdrawal deal is close to completion, with the final push focusing on the “political declaration”, the document outlining the framework of the relationship that will accompany the withdrawal treaty. European top dogs have remained unified around the key negotiating positions set out shortly after the UK referendum. They’ve also remained supportive of their chosen negotiators. Even when becoming increasingly frustrated at the lack of agreement over its border, Ireland has not directed its criticism at the EU or fellow member states but towards the UK government
The UK has not been allowed much room for cherry picking by EU bosses who have insisted it would undermine the fundamental principles of the European Union and the conventional practices on which it is built. Over 80% of a deal with the UK has been agreed, in a change of narrative that suggests a full agreement can be sealed before October’s deadline.EU bosses have generally appeared united despite inevitable differences in expectations amongst them, professionally kept private, as opposed to the open disputes that have dogged British political figures ever since the referendum. Resignations from British ministers and open conflicts highlighting strong differences of opinion has presented the Uk side as disjointed and disunited in many ways. However, the general consensus has been that EU leaders have made things very difficult by being inflexible on several key points relevant to the historical deal awaited.
Further talks of plans to oust prime minister, Theresa May, does not help present a much needed united British front in difficult and challenging political times as this. Theresa May told the BBC that MPs will have a choice between her proposed deal with the EU – or no deal at all. She also criticised of a plan by Brexiteers to resolve the Irish border issue, saying it would create a “hard border 20km inside Ireland”. May told BBC Panorama that if Parliament does not ratify the Chequers plan “I think that the alternative to that will be having no deal”.
Meanwhile, Anti-Brexit campaigners have claimed that, even if everyone who voted in the 2016 EU referendum were to vote the same way again, demographic changes mean that the UK population will have a remain majority by 29 March 2019, when the UK leaves. Peter Kellner, the former YouGov president, has done the analysis for the People’s Vote campaign, which wants a referendum on the final Brexit deal. His analysis involves looking at how the people voted in 2016 and then calculating how population changes – the death of mostly older voters, based on average death rates, and the fact that people who were too young to vote two years ago are now over 18 – will have altered the mix. It assumes people would vote as they did in 2016, and does not take into account evidence showing there has, separately, been a slight shift to remain.