The hidden fight for the City could enrage Tory Leavers

The tangled relationship between London banks and the EU is hard to fix in a trade deal, and the conflict could anger Tories

One of the many contradictions in Boris Johnson's election prospectus is the plan to sign a free trade agreement with the EU by December 2020 and at the same time break free, by his own definition, of EU control.

It's a contradiction that has, among other things, spurred Nigel Farage to threaten to field 600 candidates in the general election. Farage rightly says that the only way Johnson can sign a deal within a year is if he maintains the current alignment with the EU and all its rules. And if this is his plan, any chance of merrily signing free trade deals with other countries is sunk.

Europe might not sing with one voice. Yet that is likely to make for even slower progress on UK trade talks than otherwise