So in my whole time writing threads, I have never come across a more important one for Remainers as we leave the European Union, or one that exposes the politics of this country.

It's called: The story of Peter, Owen, and Anand.

(Thread)

It is July 2016. At the completion of the referendum and after a vote to leave the EU, the think tanks go to work. Anand co-writes a document proposing leaving the Single Market, the ECJ, and having full control of our laws.

Later that year, Owen would sit down and write an article in support for the Labour position of keeping as much access to the Single Market as possible. (October 2016)

Peter, however, is a figure in an organisation that petitions for staying in the Single Market, publishes reports about the Single Market, and holds a March to stay in the Single Market all before the year end.

On the 17th January, 2017 the Prime Minister is prepared to announce that we will definitely leave the Single Market.

Peter is up at the crack of dawn to speak on BBC radio to attack her position on the Single Market.

Two days later he appears on the BBC flagship programme 'The Andrew Marr Show' to argue that they are going to fight to stay in the Single Market, and they really want a meaningful vote on any deal the PM brings back to parliament.

Peter insists we need more debate, and that he believes we can stay in the Single Market and the Customs Union. (February 2017)

He is then part of a cross party campaign in the House of Lords to force the Prime Minister's hand into staying in the Single Market. (February 2017)

Which they lose, with other Labour lords helping the government defeat their bill.

Within a month, Peter is only too happy to criticise the front bench of the Labour party for not taking this position (March 2017)

He doesn't just do this once. Complaining that the front bench had not challenged Theresa May's position. (April 2017)

And while he says now we must leave the Prime minister to it, he makes his position very plain. He wants to stay fully in the Single Market.

The Single Market was an option he said, but Theresa took it off before the negotiation started, he would say. (May 2017)

A year on from the vote, Peter writes that while there are trade offs everywhere, hard Brexit would be a disaster. (June 2017)

The government aren't being clear about the effects of leaving the Single Market, so Peter says that the benefits can only be enjoyed by staying in it in some form. (June 2017)

That summer, Owen writes that he too would like to stay in the Single Market, even if it means that isn't really leaving and we become a "satellite state of the EU". (August 2017)

It's a summer in which Peter suggests that Labour at least stay in the Single Market while in a transition period. (August 2017)

Labour need to build a head of steam behind staying in the Single Market, Peter would say on facebook.

As the summer ends, Peter heads of to Ireland to promote remaining in the Single Market and the Customs Union. (September 2017)

And then in the autumn is happy to point out that the rest of the world would much prefer the UK to have the closest alignment to the EU as possible because they want to access the Single Market via our country.

"Wouldn't you?"

(October 2017)

Peter then heralds Keir Starmer indicating that he prefers the Norway option in an article he writes in the days before Christmas. (December 2017)

It is January 2018, and Peter is now like a dynamo. "Our highest priority should remain the European Economic Area".

The government should have adopted a clear principle to protect our business that we stay in the Single Market and the Customs Union. (January 2018)

Much is being done in the Labour party to move it adopt the Single Market. Peter is a signatory of a petition with many senior members. (February 2018)

It fails, with one piece of feedback being that Labour cannot back Single Market membership because it is not respecting the vote.

Owen writes an article saying that he is sure that some are backing the Single Market and Customs union for principled reasons, but he believes others are doing so to attack the party leadership. (February 2018)

Peter is not disheartened and pushes again to remain in the Single Market after the 100 page draft Brexit bill is published. (March 2018)

Owen is still happy to remain in the Single Market, but Labour cannot back freedom of movement because they have "no choice for political reasons", he would write. (March 2018)

As the country enters April, Anand chips in with an article about how leaving the Single Market is probably not going to change anybody's mind. It will be more about the additional growth and people will probably direct their blame elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Peter is part of another cross party movement to push the Prime Minister into a negotiation that leaves the UK in the Single Market. He claims it's time for economic realist and common sense over political dogma and wishful thinking. (May 2018)

And he is still taking on certain parts of the Labour party as he continually and relentlessly pushed for membership of the Single Market. (May 2018)

There is no solution that will avoid a hard border in Ireland if Britain leaves the single market and customs union, he declares. (June 2018)

Meanwhile, the cross party amendment that he has pushed for is about to go to the Commons, and Labour finds itself unable to support it.

The party submit their own competing amendment which does not include full Single Market membership. (June 2018)

The cross party Lords amendment that Peter championed fails in parliament. It would be the only meaningful vote on membership of the Single Market.

But the meaningful vote that Peter had brought up on Marr way back in 2017 was going to be a success. Parliament were in a position to try and soften any deal the Prime Minister came back with. (June 2018)

And finally, with the EEA amendment defeated and the Prime minister resolute on the type of deal she wanted, Peter began to speak out for the People's vote. (June 2018)

Peter attacks the Prime minister's plans, and Chuka Umunna believes no Labour Remainer would ever support this deal. (July 2018)

Peter goes further and argues that there is no way that the Labour party would support the deal, and argues that the ERG is essential to get this deal through. (August 2018)

Peter began this project arguing we couldn't stop Brexit, and regardless of if he was being truthful at the time or not, by the summer of 2018 he is clear, he says he wants to stop it or send it in a "less damaging destructive direction." (August 2018)

With the Prime minister resolute, there is nothing to do but to wait, and when she finally comes back with her deal we end up in chequers check-mate.

With the meaningful vote leading to deadlock, Peter can now offer the Prime Minister a way out of this mess. (December 2018)

Labour wouldn't back it, and the Prime minister was prepared to resign rather than lose her deal.

Leaving Peter to write about the possibility of Common Market 2.0, something he argues technically for, but also writes that he does not believe the electorate would stand for it. (April 2019)

It almost certainly wouldn't work, Anand agreed. (April 2019)

And so the die was cast. Theresa May's deal was taken off the table, and we were left with the deal of Boris Johnson.

Over a year passed and it wasn't long before Anand started to wonder "What happened to that soft Brexit?", and co-authored an article suggesting various suspects.

Shortly after Peter would write his own article arguing that it was the fault of himself and those he worked for.

Quite an admission, Anand wrote on twitter after reading it.

And he is so right, wrote Owen days later.

And that is the story of Soft Brexit and British politics. It's a tragedy, and it looks like it is here to stay.

The End.