Looking gift horses in the mouth

In the news this morning:

Pro-Remain MPs are considering using their Commons majority to keep Britain inside the EU single market if there is a vote for Brexit, the BBC has learnt. The MPs fear a post-Brexit government might negotiate a limited free trade deal with the EU, which they say would damage the UK's economy. There is a pro-Remain majority in the House of Commons of 454 MPs to 147.

A Vote Leave campaign spokesman said MPs will not be able to "defy the will of the electorate" on key issues. The single market guarantees the free movement of goods, people, services and capital.

This news comes as no surprise. This blog has always anticipated the political realities will mean a single market based solution and there's nothing the leave camp can do about it. With a pro-Remain majority in the House of Commons of 454 MPs to 147 it is a certainty.

Bizarrely though, Vote Leave have looked the gift horse squarely in the mouth. The correct response was to highlight how this makes the exit process safe for business, thus disarming the remains of their scares. It would be the perfect get out clause for the road they have taken us on and make business think twice. Alas, they believe they are on the right track and that they are winning. Their insistence on taking the dangerous road may well prove their undoing.

What is underpinning this is the Ukipper phobia of immigration having conflated freedom of movement with open borders. The ultimate irony now being that Ukippers are the ultimate obstacle to leaving the EU. Told you so.