Very cool, if true

Writer on Brexit asks us to compare Hammond's revelations with our own recollections of the Brexit process from outside. Well, my recollection from very far outside is that there was nothing surprising or game-changing about May's declaration that the UK would leave the single market and customs union, because it was already clear that the Brexiteers would stand for nothing less. See the fury generated, which Hammond cites in the full interview, at the mere suggestion that there'd even be a transition period. The only alternative was to try to keep delaying the process.