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As a boy from the North West, I swell with pride at the idea that that summit between

Boris and Leo, the one that said there's a pathway to a deal, may take on historic significance.

And my guest on the podcast this week seems to agree.

I think this is hugely successful.

I look forward to the Whirl joining that great pantheon of places where, you know, Versailles

and Vienna and Camp David, where they, where the Accord, they're all done.

That's Rishi Sunak, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, more from him, in a little while.

When people talk about whether there's a deal or not, they can obsess about the detail

of what that deal would look like.

But before you even reach that, there are calculations that have to be made.

The calculations from each side about whether they're better off now or would be in a better

position later.

The Irish are trying to work out whether it is better to do a deal with Boris Johnson

now or to wait for Parliament to block him to see if there is then a second referendum

or a new government with a different mandate or even that Boris Johnson gets a large

enough majority that he no longer has to worry about the DUP, he no longer has to worry

about his hard line anti-European rebels.

He will have greater room for manoeuvre.

And there's an important calculation taking place in Downing Street now.

Is it better to get out on the promised date on October 31st, even with a deal that

a few weeks ago would have looked pretty unattractive?

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