Welcome to FT Politics, the Financial Times's weekly discussion on what's happening in Westminster.

I'm Sebastian Payne.

In this week's episode, we'll be discussing the government's ongoing convulsions over the

Customs Union, plus what to expect in next week's local elections.

I'm delighted to be joined by James Blitz, the FT's Whitehall editor, Chief Political

Correspondent Jim Picard, Political Correspondent Laura Hughes,

plus Henry Newman from the Open Europe Think Tank.

Thank you all for joining.

And if you like this episode of F.T. politics,

don't forget to subscribe through the usual channels

to receive it automatically every Saturday morning. The UK will be leaving the EU single

market and the customs union. That's what Theresa May said a year and a half ago when

outlining her vision for Brexit. It was also in the Conservatives General Election

manifesto and yet it's still a topic of contention given the government does not

seem to have a solution to maintaining a soft border in Ireland. It's not help that there's no vote in the House of Commons

for leaving the Customs Union. So is there now a real chance that Brexit is going to be softened

and Britain has A or the customs union with the EU.

James Blitz, let's just begin with a kind of view on what's happened this week

that Theresa May has sort of equivocated on the customs union issue,

especially since she lost her majority in last year's general election.

Do you think the UK is going to maintain some kind of customs union, a customs partner,

whatever you want to call it with the years a lot of

...