All this speculation and extrapolation from the opening gambits of both sides. The EU isn't going to allow x, y or z blah, blah, blah. There are 2 sides to this negotiation and the EU can't dictate to the UK any more than the UK can it. Any negotiator worthy of the name is going to start the process playing hardball and my only surprise at any of this is that not everyone here seems able to grasp that basic fact. Just about every time one Eurocrat or another makes a claim about not compromising on something or other, the usual suspects here pitch up again with their usual predictions of doom yet when the UK does the same they whine about the arrogance of the UK trying to dictate to the EU. For me it exemplifies just how far they are willing to put the other side's interests ahead of our own and I'm wondering what they feel they'll gain as a result. Maybe the worst possible outcome for the UK is what they want because, having lost the vote, they just can't bear the thought that the other side might have been right all along.
