We are deeply concerned at how little time remains, with the deadline of 29 March looming very large on the horizon. There is an assumption with Westminster that we can get very close to the wire and then demand an extension to article 50. This is a dangerous assumption. The longer we wait to ask for an extension, the weaker the negotiating position of the Government. The closer we get to 29 March, the greater the concessions other EU member states will seek from the UK in return for securing their agreement. And the nearer we are to the European elections, the more difficult it will be to reconcile anything more than a short extension with the arrangements to reshape that Parliament to reflect Brexit. So, we need to ask for an extension to article 50 now, something that, last night, the EU indicated it would consider positively. The UK Government need to face the fact that threats and ultimatums will not somehow lead the EU to compliant submission because, while I'm sure that no-one in the EU wants the UK to crash out with no deal, can we blame our European partners if they're exasperated beyond measure by what they have seen in the last few weeks?

And whilst Brexit is surely the dominant issue in British politics, we delude ourselves if we think that Brexit is the main focus in France, in Germany, in Spain, in Portugal. Any other mature democracy, faced by the challenge of the sort posed by Brexit would have seen a Government seeking to build a broad-based consensus about how to move forward in admittedly difficult circumstances. But the Government of the United Kingdom manifestly failed to reach out. Rather, it embarked on a narrow partisan strategy to unite the Conservative Party, not the country, a strategy based on red lines, self-imposed deadlines and on an inability to listen to or respect the legitimate interests of the other party in the negotiation: the EU-27. It's a strategy that has failed to do anything to bridge the deep divisions in our society.

Even so, the historic defeat on the withdrawal agreement and political declaration would have, in any normal times, resulted in the resignation of the Prime Minister and an immediate change in direction. But, following that defeat, we heard encouraging words from the Prime Minister about cross-party discussions, reaching out to devolved administrations and looking to build consensus. It sounded like the Prime Minister had finally learned from the UK Government's mistakes. When the First Minister met the Prime Minister last week, he was clear that the UK Government was at a crossroads. The Prime Minister could continue in the direction in which she has slowly moved since the Lancaster House red lines by now embracing a customs union and participation in the single market across the whole economy, or she could stick to her deal and doggedly try to continue on a journey that had already taken her down a cul-de-sac.