We have come to a critical moment in Brexit negotiations. Everyone has a proposal but none of them work.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn gave a speech in the UK laying out what he wants Brexit to look like. It is in contrast to what UK prime minister Theresa May wants.

However, neither May’s proposal nor Corbyn’s proposal is acceptable to the EU. Corbyn is playing politics, and it may well lead to the collapse of the UK government, but it won’t stop Brexit.

Talks May Fail

I’m starting to think that these talks may fail. The U.K. has again offered close co-operation in good faith. Guy Verhofstadt responds by telling MEPs that Northern Ireland must have identical regulations to the Republic. He must know that no British government could accept that. pic.twitter.com/MEUL0MWLQY

— Daniel Hannan (@DanielJHannan) February 27, 2018

That’s the short version. Eurointelligence provides the longe version.

Jeremy Corbyn’s speech was a bit of a downer in our view. He gave us Labour’s version of having your cake and eating it: a bespoke customs union of the kind the EU is unlikely to agree to. He accepts partial regulatory alignment, but not membership of the single market. He insists on the UK having a say on future EU trade deals, which will be completely unacceptable to the EU. He reaffirmed yesterday that Labour will not be seeking a second referendum, or challenging Brexit in other ways. In fact, this should be the main headline. By coming out in favour of the customs union – however flawed it may be – Labour has closed the door on Brexit revocation. We very much liked Laura Kuenssberg’s philosophical observation:

>”…if the EU says we can’t have a say in a customs union, and Mr. Corbyn says he wouldn’t join a union if the UK wasn’t given a say, what happens then? Nothing about what outwardly seems a softer Brexit is guaranteed. If the promise is an impossible one, is it really a promise at all?”