Oh what a tangled web we weave ...

When we try to understand Brexit.

During the votes on the Prime Minister's withdrawal agreement she failed to get it through essentially because she was defeated by an unholy alliance between on the one hand,

• "Pure" Brexit supporters who wanted either a "No deal" Brexit or a deal which would have put more distance between Britain and the EU,  and
• Remain supporters and "soft" Brexit supporters who wanted the exact opposite -  a watered down deal which would put less distance between Britain and the EU, or no Brexit at all.

It was obvious that one of these two groups was stitching themselves up and would bring about the opposite of what they say they want but few people in either faction were willing to even acknowledge that this was a problem. Those who did almost all eventually voted for the deal.

A similar situation applies this evening.

The PM's decision to talk to the opposition about whether a way through can be found to deliver Brexit has been attacked by people on opposite ends of the spectrum and on opposite and incompatible grounds.

Supporters of a hard Brexit have been vehemently opposed to this decision to talk to the Leader of the Opposition, practically accusing Mrs May of treason, because tbey think Jeremy Corbyn will take the opportunity to sabotage Brexit.

However Remainers have been equally almost equally unhappy about these talks and critical of the participants, but in their case the person they have been accusing of selling out is Mr Corbyn because they are terrified that he won't try to sabotage Brexit!

There was an exchange on twitter this evening who sums up how strange the whole thing has become.

The soft-Brexit supporting MP Nick Boles who resigned from the Conservative party this week has made the accusation that

"The PM’s head of communications Robbie Gibb is a hard Brexiter who wants to destroy the PM’s new search for a cross party compromise."

The Guido Fawkes twitter account - not sure whether that would have been Paul Staines himself or one of his colleagues but until very recently nobody would have questioned the Leave credentials of anyone who might be writing tweets using that account - came back with

"Hard Brexiters say the opposite - that he is pushing May's agenda and has sold out. Truth is he wants to get Britain out of the EU more than anything."

Robert Hutton commented:

"I genuinely can't remember whether 'wanting to get Britain out of the EU more than anything' means he's a Brexiteer or a sell-out."

Guido Fawkes replied that

"It is complicated." and added that if you want out of the EU any which way ASAP you are a sell-out who might as well join Change UK / The Independent Group, but if you vote against Brexit and are willing to  "stay in for another year in order to get a purer Brexit" you are a staunch ERG member.

The tweet concluded by demonstrating how best to distance yourself from an opinion you've just described in three words:

"No, me neither."