26 May 2021updated 22 Jul 2021 12:15pm

First thoughts: Splits in the cabinet, one year of Test and Trace, and post-Covid nuptials

The debate over the Australia trade deal is just the first skirmish: if cheap Aussie lamb can split the cabinet, who knows what chlorinated American chicken will do.

By Rachel Cunliffe

Liz Truss seems to have won the debate, with a free-trade offer made to Australia on 21 May. (Photo By )

One of the core arguments for Brexit was that it would enable the UK to increase free trade with the rest of the world, reducing costs for consumers with a flood of competitively priced imports. Another was that a Leave vote would enable British farmers to thrive by protecting the domestic market and upholding high UK food standards.

There comes a point where you have to pick one of these arguments. Five years on, that point has arrived and civil war has broken out among the Tory ranks over a new trade deal with Australia.