It was the week Boris Johnson told his cabinet and the country to prepare to trade with the EU like Australia from January 1st.

Except for the fact that Australia has no trade deal with the EU and is on the other side of the world, this

was meant to sound reassuring. We need to be very, very clear. It's now a strong

possibility, strong possibility that we will have a solution that's much more like an Australian relationship

with the EU than a Canadian relationship with the EU.

That doesn't mean it's a bad thing. There are plenty of ways, as I've said, that we can turn that to the advantage of both sides.

Welcome to Payne's Politics, your essential insider guide to what's happening in British politics from the Financial Times.

And as you've probably noticed from the absence of his lilting Jordi accent, Sebs away. This week you've got me George Parker.

In this week's episode we'll be focusing on the story of the moment,

the bane of my Christmas planning, Brexit.

With negotiations on a trade deal stalled again,

we'll be looking at whether the process can be salvaged

with Jim Brunston, sleep deprived after an all-nighter

at a European council in Brussels and Sam Lowe, an expert on trade talks

from the Centre for European Reform.

And later we'll be talking about the one bit of the Brexit process that was resolved this week,

arrangements for Northern Ireland. Has it really removed the threat of a hard Irish

sea border? Joining us will be our Peter Foster and Jess Sergeant from the Institute for Government who've

probably forgotten more about the Northern Ireland Protocol than I ever knew.

But let's get started with Brexit talks in Brussels with Jim and Sam. Jim was speaking on

Friday morning after a marathon summit session last night. I hope you've had a

coffee. What if anything has happened so far on the subject of Brexit?

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