The CBI – the Europhile business body which is funded by Brussels – has demanded the UK stays inside the single market and customs union until a free trade deal is agreed. This proposal for a limitless transition is being picked up by other Remainers. No one should be fooled by the write-ups in the broadsheets – this is an attempt to frustrate Brexit. Since January continuity Remainers have focused their attention on securing a permanent transition period which ultimately keeps us inside the EU. One of the most senior Remain figures from the referendum told Guido himself they wanted a lengthy transition lasting years, by which point they hoped the public mood had changed and Brexit could be prevented. Yesterday’s CBI proposal fits that plan. As Gisela Stuart says: “Committing to stay in the EU’s single market and customs union during a transition period would only serve to tie our hands in the negotiations, and make it more likely that the EU gives us a bad deal”. A transitional period is fine so long as it is strictly time-limited and we leave the institutions of the European Union by clearly set dates. The CBI’s desire to keep it open-ended risks becoming a permanent transition, and they know it…