Fall Out: A Year of Political Mayhem

by Tim Shipman

The meeting began with air kisses on the steps of Number 10 between May and Juncker but then descended into an awkward standoff. The Commission group were perturbed that neither Nick Timothy nor Fiona Hill was present at the talks, which they took to be a snub, little realising that the chiefs had been banned by the civil service from attending, since they had formally resigned their posts to join the election campaign. When May enjoined her guests, ‘Let’s make Brexit a success,’ Juncker pointed to Britain’s planned withdrawal from the single market and the customs union and said, ‘Brexit cannot be a success.’ When the Commission president pointed out that Britain would become a ‘third country’ state at the point of Brexit, further outside the customs union even than Turkey, May seemed surprised, giving rise to concerns that she was not fully briefed.