Jeremy the Pragmatist. How did the Marxist ideologue make that happen? Because the Tories let him.

Labour is, as of today, seeking an economic arrangement with the EU that will “do the work of the current customs union”. That would ensure “tariff-free” trade to continue with our largest export markets.

It would largely resolve the issue of the Irish border, which the Government is not even close to doing.

And it means Britain would remain part of the trade deals the EU has with the rest of the world that we helped land, like Canada and South Korea, and included in the future ones the EU is now negotiating with Japan, the US and China.

The Labour leader has, with the smallest of nudges, manoeuvred himself into a more pro-business, pro-free trade European policy than the Tory Government.

He has also opened up the looming prospect of the Prime Minister suffering a huge defeat in the Commons, as the number of Tory MPs who agree with remaining in a customs union grows each week.

The Evening Standard has warned consistently that this would happen since the moment the last election result became clear.

So did the Chancellor of the Exchequer, many sensible Cabinet members, business groups, Tory peers and backbench MPs.

But the warnings were ignored and the Conservative leadership instead chose to appease the hardcore Brexiteers, obsessed with the ideological purity of their experiment and — in some cases — openly willing to lose an election, if that’s the price of pursuing it.

Careful what you wish for

None of the arguments advanced by Brexiteer leaders this morning stack up.

They say we forgo the distant prospect of our own trade deals; yet the decision to align “voluntarily” with EU product rules renders impossible the prospect of deals radically different from the ones the Europeans themselves would do.

They say Labour is betraying its core supporters, as if the voters of Port Talbot voted Brexit because they want a more ambitious free-trade deal with China.

They say the poorest will lose out, when the economic analysis commissioned by Brexit ministers revealed the poorest parts of the country will be hit hardest if we leave a customs union.

They say Mr Corbyn is abandoning his manifesto commitment, when the Tories have abandoned their entire manifesto (how’s the work on that social care policy coming along?).

They say “tariff-free trade” with Europe is a U-turn, when that was exactly what Theresa May used to promise.

Now the Tory Brexiteers threaten the so-called “rebels” trying to save their party from further economic mistakes, with a motion of confidence in the leadership if they don’t fall into line.

That’s a bit rich from people who spent a lifetime rebelling — and they forget that under the new rules, losing a confidence motion doesn’t trigger a general election. They should be careful what they wish for.

At the Lancaster House speech a year ago, the option of membership of a customs union was kept open by the Prime Minister. Last week it was formally closed.

The result is an open goal for Labour — and surprise, surprise, they just kicked the ball into the back of it.

Transport snowflakes

The Beast from the East may sound scary, but where it comes from — Russia — it’s unlikely that it has quite the same devastating effect on transport as in London.

Commuters are being advised that they should complete their journeys by 6pm tonight and that the next five days of bad weather will bring travel chaos.

At present there is just a light dusting of snow in the capital.

Even if it gets worse, is it really an excuse for a travel shutdown?