Downing Street had used the prospect of a lengthy delay — which could be used to force a second referendum — to try to persuade Brexiteer lawmakers that they risk losing Brexit altogether if they don’t vote for May’s deal.

That may all have been part of the plan — at least according to Downing Street’s chief Brexit negotiator Olly Robbins, who allegedly told colleagues in a Brussels bar last month that UK lawmakers will ultimately face a choice between the deal brokered by May or a long delay to Brexit, ITV News reported at the time.

But May faced a mutiny from Brexiteer members of her government this week if she formally requested a long delay from Brussels, and opted for a short extension instead.