I see the EU Remainers' PROJECT FEAR is alive and well.

Nigel Farage isn’t rejoicing - that’s got to be good. He’s calling it a sellout.

Redwood appears to reject the report. The loons will be spiking their guns.

I see on Twitter that Boris congratulates May on the deal. Gove approved on R4 Today programme.
Waiting for Rees-Mogg's verdict!

Phew, a close run thing, and yes lemon, I for one am rejoicing! Now for the next stage with renewed vigour and the wind in our sails. Well done Mrs May , we've already raised a cup (of tea!) to you in this house!

Very few Leavers enter in to debate on N&P but like lemon and nigglynellie I am pleased Mrs May has ironed things out and progress has been made. My Irish relatives are pleased too.

Remoaners will hate this news of course. They really want negotiations to go up, don't they? It's almost traitorous that given we ARE leaving the EU they want talks to fail, progress to stall and conflict to reign.

'negotiations to go t - -s up'

So Day6 and lemongrove would you be happy to see a soft Brexit?
I imagine most remainers are hoping for a soft Brexit.

Call me a cynic but I'm not rejoicing yet. I believe we have an uphill struggle ahead of us, years of frustration, negotiations and re-negotiations. This will undoubtedly take a lot of energy and manpower. Urgent matters at home like NHS, education etc will be put on the back burner.
I am very sceptical that the political will and nous needed to create a functional NHS is there. I know we have been told for years that NHS is the envy of the rest of the world. Not in my experience. It seems to me as if our leaders believe that as long as they keep repeating this mantra we will soon start believing it. Our politicians tell us they WANT to have the best education system in the world, the best transport system etc. Don't tell us – show us.

I wonder too about whether leavers would be happy with a soft Brexit. During the referendum campaign, we were told we could have a sort of Norway model or a Canadian model.
Would you be content with that now?
Then everyone could get a bit of what they want, if not everything, and maybe some divisions could be healed.

(I think perhaps Day 6 you are projecting feelings on to remainers that they don't have)

Mixed feelings here. We appear to have our right to stay in France confirmed, but continued Freedom of Movement for Brits in Europe not within this negotiation, which will worry a lot of working people. Happy that Hard Brexit now off the table, hoping for Norway rather than Canada for the sake of the UK economy and the options open to our grandchildren.
Feel a bit more secure, but continuing loss of income owing to the depressed pound still a worry (about 20% of income since the Brexit vote).

We have mixed feelings too Mamie. The devil will be in the detail - but I agree with you about continued worry for people working within Europe. Free travel to other states does not yet seem to be agreed.

All that's happened is nothing has changed other than we have lost any influence we had in European affairs, and all the things that have been holding up a trade deal (which has caused a great deal of stress to a lot of EU citizens living here and UK people living abroad, plus the danger of the troubles returning to Ireland) and were to be used as bargaining tools have now been have been waved aside.

I think it is encouraging that the UK has been realistic and made so many concessions to get this far. If we get an end to the blustering, confrontational behaviour of the first part of the process then that can only be good. One senses that hard reality is dawning on all but the most extreme Brexiteers.

•remainers hate this news• talk about sweeping generalisations and insults.
No, it’s not better than remaining but it’s the least worst option. You may be pleased May has made all the concessions and taken months and £ billions to get to stage where the EU will actually allow negotiations to put us in a situation where the self harm is not as bad as it could be. Not hanging out the bunting though. Pleased that the Brexit loons aren’t happy.

Most of the commentary suggests that the Irish border issue means that Norway is more likely than Canada. If they can find something that looks like SM/CU and quacks like SM/CU but is called the UK/EU very special arrangement......

if insulting me makes you feel better whitewave I shan’t be bothered to pull you up on it, but do examine your reasons for it.We were not talking about ‘poor families’ but about the very real prospect of not being able to forge ahead with negotiations and problems with Ireland, so yes, this news will brighten Christmas for many, many people.

But you weren't concerned about the fact that whitewaves family were under threat of redundancy the other week, lemon, so why are you rejoicing in the prospect of some people not having so much to fear about (possibly) now?

It sounds as if the red lines are disappearing. Leavers who would not have accepted paying significant amounts of money are now having to accept we will have to do so. Leavers who would not have accepted staying under the ECJ but we are doing so. Alignment is the only way we can have a soft boarder with Ireland - a very good thing - and, quite rightly, this has to be across the whole country. This means, more or less staying in the single market and the customs union.

I will not be ecstatic if we find we have left under these conditions but I would be pretty happy. We will have lost our place at the EU table, which seems like stupidity to me, but if that is what it takes to stay in the single market I could live with that. It would also mean the government has carried out the wishes of the advisory 37% and 'left' the EU. It might also mean that they had met the needs and wishes of the rest of the country.

It also means the the govt will be held accountable for everything they do (eg austerity cuts) because they will have no one else to blame. And the bremoaners, who have been bremoaning for decades will have to shut up.

Its a bit galling that someone born in NI can be both a British and EU citizen though.

We won’t be staying in the single market GG or the customs union.

The best thing about leaving the EU Tegan2 is to make our own decisions ( on everything) and yes, the government, whichever Party is in power will be wholly accountable in the future, and that is a very good thing.

www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2017/12/08/the-message-from-the-eu-to-the-uk-is-very-clear-its-we-dont-trust-you/

Good to know that brexiteers agree with this.

“The financial settlement itself will be drawn up and paid in Euros – meaning Britain will lose out because the pound plummeted on referendum night.
“Britain will have to pay its share of budget commitments “outstanding at 31 December 2020”.
“It will take 12 YEARS [for the UK] to be repaid the huge pot Britain has in the European Investment Bank. The sums will be repaid in instalments of 300 million Euros a year.
“Britain will honour commitments it made before 2019 for refugees in Turkey.
“It will also continue to pay into the European Development Fund in full until the current round ends in 2020.”

So the Norway option seems the most likely.

Canada unworkable because of two issues, the first is the Irish border and the second is the service.

I reckon it will be a bespoke U.K. but so near to Norway as to be indistinguishable. If it walks like a duck etc.

All this division, time and money to simply lose any influence. I assume the Brexiters think it is worth it

Yes, it is hugely worth it!

Why?