We probably need to accept that their commitment to how they define the Single Market is even more fundamental than we had appreciated."

So said Chair of Vote Leave, Gisela Stuart.

In negotiations, you have to learn, understand and respect the other side's red lines. This by Vote Leave is an incredible admission, that the EU would preserve the SM and therefore the EU itself over trade with anyone, let alone the UK shows how little she and other Brexiteers understood the EU and what they were entering into.

And its not just the ingle Market, its the Customs Union too, and with these two concepts true "frictionless trade" can really happen, as the UK experienced since 1992. Those with long memories might remember those "Europe is Open" campaigns from out then, checks notes, Conservatve Government.

A deal might be done over the weekend. Johnso has a track record of giving up at the last minute and then trying to pain capitulation as some kind of voctory. So, it could happen. But if a deal is done, the UK business would have six working days from Monday to prepare.

The EU has proposed some measures to ensure basics like plane and train travel keep running in the event of no deal. These are the so-called "side deals" that a "managed no deal" would have been composed that Brexiteers for a couple of years proposed.

So they're happy about this?

Of course not! How dare the EU plan for no deal, we'll take no deal, not prepare and suffer, thank you very much.

Enjoy Christmas. Enjoy the normality.

Either way, January will be hard.