Now May must have the talk with her cabinet she has been putting off for months

The Downing Street staff Christmas party was in full swing all around her on Thursday night as Theresa May negotiated with Brussels, Dublin and Belfast.

She dropped into the party for a chat between calls with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker and two with DUP leader Arlene Foster, at about 9pm and 11pm.

After a few hours' sleep, the prime minister left No 10 at 3.30am to take an RAF flight to Brussels for a 6am breakfast with Juncker and his chief negotiator, Michel Barnier.

“The prime minister had a tough day yesterday – I mean there was a lot of work to be done, a lot of conversations to be had. But we are pleased we have got to the place we have this morning,” her official spokesman said.

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After one of the worst weeks in a terrible few months for the prime minister, she had something to celebrate at last. Unless there is some last-minute objection, next week's summit will agree to allow Brexit negotiations to move to the second phase.

Major compromises

May had to make major compromises along the way, giving the EU negotiators almost everything they asked for on the divorce bill and citizens’ rights. The deal on the Irish Border, amended and reinforced with reassurances to unionists since last Monday, has left some Conservatives feeling queasy. But for the most part, they suppressed their misgivings and congratulated May on her achievement.

If you take that, what are you left with? Just one thing: a free trade agreement on the Canadian model

The most powerful Brexiteers in May's cabinet, Boris Johnson and Michael Gove, were among the first to praise her, putting a spin on the deal designed to appeal to fellow Eurosceptics. It was left to fringe voices such as Nigel Farage and his former patron Arron Banks to accuse the prime minister of betrayal.

Peace within the Conservative Party may not last long because before Christmas, May will have to have the conversation with her cabinet she has been putting off for months. As Britain prepares to start negotiating with the EU about a future trade relationship, she will ask her ministers for the first time what they actually want.

Limited deal

Barnier on Friday sought to make their task easier, saying there was only one option on the menu – a limited free trade deal similar to that between the EU and Canada. He said that, since Britain does not want to be part of the EU's single market, customs union or be subject to rulings by the European Court of Justice, all other options were unavailable.

“If you take that, what are you left with? Just one thing: a free trade agreement on the Canadian model,” he said.

In her speech in Florence last September, May said Britain wanted a trade relationship with the EU that was looser than Norway’s but more comprehensive than Canada’s, which covers goods but not services. The commission is having none of it, making clear that it will only offer an unadorned Canada deal – Canada Dry, as it’s called in Brussels.

Ambiguous

The language agreed on the Border is just ambiguous enough to allow Downing Street to claim that, if the promise of "full alignment" of regulations has to be fulfilled, it will be limited to a few areas identified in the Belfast Agreement. The agreement also promises, however, that such alignment will apply to the whole of the UK rather than just Northern Ireland, opening up the possibility of the entire country remaining effectively in the single market after Brexit.

First, however, May must secure from Brussels the standstill transition deal that British business is clamouring for. Donald Tusk alarmed Brexiteers on Friday when he said Britain was looking for a deal that would keep the country in the single market and the customs union for at least two years after Brexit.

Downing Street insists Britain will be able to maintain the status quo during the transition but will be outside the single market and the customs union. Unpicking that contradiction will be a bad-tempered exercise for Brexiteers and the next headache for the prime minister after the brief glow of victory disappears.