Since 23 June, eurosceptic MPs have been strolling around Westminster like cats with all the cream.
So admissions by Brexit Secretary David Davis that the government would consider making contributions to the EU budget in exchange for access to the single market, comes as a shock to them.
The "major criterion" was getting the best access for goods and services to the European market, Davis told MPs on Thursday (1 December). "And if that (paying a contribution) is included... then...
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Benjamin Fox is a seasoned reporter and editor, previously working for fellow Brussels publication Euractiv. His reporting has also been published in the Guardian, the East African, Euractiv, Private Eye and Africa Confidential, among others. He heads up the AU-EU section at EUobserver, based in Nairobi, Kenya.