Well Cameron set the scene by organising the referendum in an attempt to deal with internal party divisions, May continued the process by insisting on a hard Brexit outside the Single Market and Customs Union, Boris got her deal across the line with minor amendments, and now, under his watch, the final formal acts of Brexit are taking place as the transition period expires.

However other than winning an election on endorsing "an oven ready deal" he subsequently threatened to reneged on, he has done little but preside over a corrupt and incompetent regime, mishandled Covid, enriched his chums, undermined civil liberties, and accelerated the break-up of the UK. I suspect he will want a more positive legacy. Winning a war would do the trick, but first he must find an enemy he can defeat.

The EU, for all its faults, doesn't appear to be willing to play the fall guy. If the EU cannot agree the implementation of the Covid recovery plan and budget at this summit, they will also want a a distracting controversy... It's easier to maintain a united front against Boris, than to agree to compromising the Single Market and legal order of the EU.

Index of Frank's Diaries