If Theresa May has ruled out a customs union with the EU for the sake of Tory unity, then it hasn’t had the desired effect.

If anything, the controversial policy change has sparked an escalation in the party’s decades long civil war over Europe.

Anna Soubry, shop steward of the Tories’ Remainer rebels, has fired off this rip-roaring 10 tweet riposte this morning:

Do the maths No 10. MPs are listening to local businesses and in so doing are rejecting the Hard #Brexit ideology of the ERG #CustomsUnion — Anna Soubry MP (@Anna_Soubry) February 5, 2018

It’s deeply unattractive that the only reason they want to leave #CustomsUnion is to chase unicorn trade deals https://t.co/xeeTCltMx0 — Anna Soubry MP (@Anna_Soubry) February 5, 2018

which cannot make good the harm we will do to trade by leaving the #CustomsUnion. And the (agreed) Irish border deal accepts #CustomsUnion https://t.co/CuMsh0PV9h — Anna Soubry MP (@Anna_Soubry) February 5, 2018

UK enjoys well over 50 #FreeTrade agreements w other countries because of our membership of the #CustomsUnion https://t.co/L7PL10VUV2 https://t.co/40xvM7LRJM — Anna Soubry MP (@Anna_Soubry) February 5, 2018

We will have to renegotiate all those agreements if we leave the #Customs Union https://t.co/Q6XrDznL5l — Anna Soubry MP (@Anna_Soubry) February 5, 2018

As PMs visit (& Osbornes £20 billion trip in 2015) proves we trade with countries like China successfully as members of EU SM and CU https://t.co/SA2epjgZVZ — Anna Soubry MP (@Anna_Soubry) February 5, 2018

So there is absolutely no good reason to leave the #CustomsUnion. It’s all about ideology. Email your MP commonsense & trade must prevail https://t.co/SA2epjgZVZ — Anna Soubry MP (@Anna_Soubry) February 5, 2018

The Govts own analysis shows we will be poorer if we leave the CU (even if we get lots of new FTAs) and (finally) … https://t.co/uZkGH3pTc2 — Anna Soubry MP (@Anna_Soubry) February 5, 2018

PM says she wants “frictionless” trade with EU. She’s right & the only way to achieve that is being in #CustomsUnion #tradenotideology https://t.co/mI88fpJy8G — Anna Soubry MP (@Anna_Soubry) February 5, 2018

May I gently remind @Conservatives colleagues we lost our majority in June when the British people rejected a no #CustomsUnion #Hard Brexit — Anna Soubry MP (@Anna_Soubry) February 5, 2018

Brexiteers counter attacked. Amusingly, they blamed May too but for different reasons:

Or so SHE chooses to interpret it.

I can think of LOTS of other reasons including a manifesto more gloomy than one of Gordon Brown’s speeches. https://t.co/TfhAoxxXoQ — Michael Fabricant (@Mike_Fabricant) February 5, 2018

This is nonsense. We lost our majority in ‘17 despite winning more votes than Cameron ever achieved because of a) an appallingly bad manifesto b) a cult surge for hard Brexiteer Corbyn – your @Conservative colleagues are well aware what the country voted for in June ‘16 #Brexit https://t.co/3aeSbmJ1cm — Nadine Dorries (@NadineDorries) February 5, 2018

So, as the today’s Guardian cartoon so perfectly visualises, May remains exactly where she was before:

As they say in Brussels, plus ça change…