Boris Johnson will be handing Labour a lifeline if there’s a no-deal Brexit

A failure to agree a trade deal would transform the domestic political landscape, but not in the way the prime minister might think, writes Andrew Grice

Boris Johnson in Downing Street (EPA)

Last year, Boris Johnson put the chances of not securing a trade deal with the EU as “a million to one against”. Today, it is “very, very likely”. 

I no longer think Johnson is bluffing. Just as he will not accept that any trade agreement involves some loss of sovereignty, the EU is not prepared to do anything that would undermine the integrity of its precious single market.

Although negotiations are continuing in Brussels, the two sides appear to be going through the motions, so they can tell their domestic audience they tried hard to reach an agreement. “We have run out of road, and energy,” one exasperated EU figure told me.