WATCH: How Labour's position on Brexit has 'evolved' over the summer
3 min read
The arrival of September means it is now officially Not Summer.
And while June-August 2017 will not go down as a vintage period in the political annals - the fact that Big Bens bongs dominated the agenda for a few days rather proves the point - it has been notable for the, er, evolution of Labour's policy on membership of the European single market.
Of course, "evolution" is putting it kindly. Other, more accurate, descriptions include "complete mess", "embarrassing climbdown" and "complete volte face".
So how did we get to where we are today?
Appearing on ITV's Peston on Sunday programme on 11 June, John McDonnell could not have been clearer - staying in the single market after Brexit would be a betrayal of the British people.
The Shadow Chancellor said: "People will interpret membership of the single market as not respecting that referendum."
Why the EU would allow Britain to maintain precisely the same benefits of membership while not being members was never made clear, but at least Labour had a clear policy.
Jeremy Corbyn went even further on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show on 23 July, insisting that being in the single market was "inextricably linked" with being a member of the EU.
The following day, Shadow International Trade Secretary Barry Gardiner burnished Labour's hard Brexit credentials by declaring that staying in the customs union after quitting the EU would be "a disaster".
A month later, however, and Labour's policy was on the move. Writing in The Observer, Shadow Brexit Secretary Keir Starmer said the party now backed single market membership during any transitional period after Brexit day on 29 March, 2019. He even dangled the possibility of that arrangement being made permanent if the EU agreed (an enormous 'if', to be fair).
And breaking a self-imposed post-election silence last night, deputy Labour leader Tom Watson said they were now the party of "soft Brexit" and long-term single market membership.
Now, this is not meant to be a criticism of Labour's Brexit journey. Although Jeremy Corbyn's endorsement of the latest position has been less than effusive, the party's soft Brexiters appear to have won the party's summer-long internal battle.
But anyone who tries to claim that the dramatic shift in Labour's stance is part of a cunning strategic plan to wrong-foot the Tories are either being wilfully disingenuous or haven't really been paying attention.
