Can Boris Johnson hold his party together if the EU moves on the backstop?

If the prime minister manages to change minds in Brussels, he still faces a fight to win over Westminster, writes John Rentoul

(PA)

The prime minister was delighted by the polite reception he received from what he calls “our European friends” in Berlin, Paris and Biarritz. Despite a warning from Dominic Cummings, his top adviser, not to get carried away by positive talk from Angela Merkel, many Downing Street officials are convinced that there are signs the EU side is prepared to shift its ground.

Boris Johnson in his news conference at the end of the G7 summit said he was “marginally more optimistic” that a Brexit deal could be done that would avoid a no-deal exit on 31 October.

And a No 10 spokesperson told journalists yesterday: “What is clear is that if there is goodwill on both sides, and a determination to get things done, solutions to the backstop exist and the prime minister believes they should be discussed.”