What If Brexit Can't Stand On Its Own Two Feet?

With the second round of Brexit talks starting this morning, the newspaper headlines gave away each paper's standpoint:

• Financial Times "Hammond champions two year transition deal to cushion Brexit" (Independence broadly)
• Telegraph "Hammond accused of Brexit treachery" (Leave)
• Guardian "Brexit threat to safe and stable food supplies" (Remain)
• i Paper "Cabinet chaos as Brexit talks resume" (Remain)

You can tell that Brexit is in trouble when Brexiters try and undermine the Remainers, rather than let Brexit win on its own merits.

At the weekend, the comments Lord Adonis made were mis-interpreted in a way that can only be described as #FakeNews.  Tories targeting a Labour peer.

Trying to undermine Philip Hammond is the other travesty.  Tories targeting a Conservative!:

• Philip denies saying anything derogatory in Cabinet about women as train drivers.  He has two daughters in their twenties and I know the feeling!
• His comments in cabinet about public sector workers being overpaid he has clarified as reflecting generous pensions.  Labour are interpreting it as about cash.  Philip was quoting independent research that public pay is some 10% above private sector, all things considered. And "on average" not any specific groups, some of which can be under the private sector benchmark..

 In my view, Philip Hammond is the only one of the senior ministers to be acting like a grown-up. He does have an escape route to properly act out what I am sure is his true wish to #StopBrexit .  Will he take it?