[Sephiroth]

The EU will never agree a deal with us during the Article 50 period unless it's on their own terms. 2 years have proved this. Article 50 had to be served because otherwise the EU wouldn't even have looked at us in a potential Brexit context.

The difference between then and now is that what I said above was not obvious to most hopeful Leavers and certainly wasn't in the mind of most Remainers. One MP, David Gauke, came out publicly before the Referendum to explain why he was voting Remain - it was the uncertainties and unknowns we would be in for.

For all that might have been, the EU has shown itself to be perfidious and nasty. That's enough reason to leave; were we now to rescind Article 50, we'll be the laughing stock with far less influence than we previously thought we had.

Also we can't allow that perfidious Varadkar to be the tail that wags the dog, albeit a currently stupid dog. If the Customs Union exit rules are to be governed by the ECJ, we'll never be able to leave because the ECJ interprets everything according to the extant treaties which don't allow what we want in terms of sovereignty.

SHort of a treaty that varies the current rules, no deal would be best.