In the drama a day that is UK politics, Westminster yesterday had a twin-track approach towards getting some sort of a deal that would avoid a hard Brexit.

Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn began talks with the prime minister on finding a mutually acceptable way to break the logjam in Parliament, which has indicated it wants an exit deal but cannot decide what type.

Parallel to this, his party colleague Yvette Cooper and Conservative MP Oliver Letwin were promoting a bill in Parliament that squeezed all of its stages into a few hours and succeeded by a single vote. This commands the prime minister to seek a further extension of Article 50 to prevent a no-deal Brexit.

Cross-party approach

At this stage, it appears the prime minister has given up on getting broad enough support within her own party for either her own withdrawal agreement or an alternative.

By reaching across to the opposition, it brings into focus what exactly their policy is and if they will participate in a government of national unity on this issue.

EU accommodation

The other issue is what approach the EU will take to a further extension request. It has indicated a preference for a longer extension with the condition of participating in European Parliament elections. This is a sensitive issue in the UK, yet the EU is noted for its decision-making process being legislative-based and inflexible towards bending rules for political convenience. However, this is an exceptional situation so expect a long debate when the heads of state convene again next Wednesday.

Importance for farming

While the UK looks like it is searching hard to find a deal on Brexit, the reality is that Irish farmers need a deal that preserves as much of the status quo as possible. Customs alignment is a basic requirement to protect the value of the British market and a harmonisation or regulatory standards are essential to keep trade flowing on the island of Ireland.

The biggest issue of the single market for the UK is the freedom of people movement and while it is sacrosanct with the EU as part of the four freedoms that underpin the single market, for farmers it wouldn’t be a particular issue.

Irish border hasn’t gone away

The other issue that is worth keeping an eye on are the meetings the Taoiseach had with the French president in Paris and the German Chancellor’s visit to Dublin today.

On the face of it, these engagements demonstrate the continued support for Ireland in the Brexit negotiation. However, the two big players in the EU-27 will also be focused on preserving the integrity of the EU-27 single market and the border in Ireland is the only land interface between the UK and EU.

The biggest issue of the single market for the UK is the freedom of people movement

Expect the issue of how that would be enforced in a no-deal Brexit to feature in discussions when the cameras are out of sight.

The bottom line is that momentum is building in the UK to achieve an orderly Brexit with a deal and perhaps the possibility of having it ratified in a referendum.

The issue is whether the terms and conditions that the EU attaches to granting any request will be acceptable or will they be a step too far for the UK? Irish farmers will be hoping that the desire for a deal will trump the need to preserve red lines which have done so much to frustrate the process for so long.