German MEP Bernd Lange is Chair of the European Parliament’s Trade Committee. If his sentiment this morning is reflected in the Commission, the UK-EU FTA negotiations could be a lot more cordial than the Brexit ones of the last few years ever were.

Speaking on the Today Programme this morning, Lange said that “it is possible to have a trade deal done in this year”, striking a very different tone from a more salty Ursula von der Leyen last month.

Lange accepted that it’s “clearly not possible” for the UK to be subject to ECJ arbitration in the future relationship, saying there will be a “state to state dispute mechanism”, and rounded off by saying UK-EU relations will perhaps be even better after Brexit. As Brexiteers have been saying for years, the UK can now stop being a bad tenant and become a good neighbour…