Theresa May lives to fight another day after facing down demands from Tory Remainer rebels to commit to entering a customs union with the EU if a frictionless trade deal could not be negotiated by this January.

But the audible sighs of relief in Downing Street cannot mask the fact that when it comes to the negotiation with Brussels, the British government has actually moved backwards this week in the eyes of the EU.

The UK Brexit white paper was always viewed as a fundamentally tactical and political document in Brussels, designed to open the door to further negotiations (and concessions) rather than a serious blueprint for the future.

Europe might conceivably have humoured its most fanciful parts – like the dual tariff system that created the theoretical possibility of an independent trade policy after Brexit – but Mrs May’s own hard Brexiteer rebels have shot that fox before it could even leave its den.

The entire conceit of the Chequers document and the white paper – designed as it was to temporarily reconcile the irreconcilable – now lies in tatters.

The lull before the storm?

So what happens next? Initially, not very much. Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, will give a presentation to EU ministers at the General Affairs Council this Friday, and will give what one source described as a simple “progress report” on the Brexit negotiation.