There is one man to blame for this current Brexit impasse; David Cameron. A man so complacent that he failed to prepare any contingency plans in the likely event of Britain voting to leave the EU. A former prime minister who, instead of being honest and declare that he would resign if he lost last year's EU Referendum, vowed to stay on regardless. Yet we all know he chose to do the opposite.
For all of Theresa May's faults, she has inherited an unfortunate mess. She had to call a general election to strengthen the Conservatives' majority to force Brussels to listen to her.
Yet even if she achieved that outcome, Juncker would not have done that.
Last year, the Prime Minister had to establish a new department to design contingency plans in a compressed period of time before she decided to trigger Article 50.
They rebuke every proposal the Government makes
Even though she has provided the EU with an offer of a transitional deal, they rebuke every proposal the Government makes. It is no wonder Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt dubbed the European Commission as "arrogant." There is nothing she can offer which will force the trading bloc's officials to listen.
However, it appears that the Civil Service has prepared contingency plans in the likely event of "no deal." The Head of the Civil Service, Sir Jeremy Haywood, has responded to claims from senior Tories that the Civil Service has not issued plans for the UK to trade on WTO rules.
Europhile ministers fear that if Britain walks away from the Brexit negotiations, borders will be hit by delays and cash would have to be spent on customs to pay for hiring people to process items previously waved through ports.
Sir Jeremy has insisted preparations are in hand to ensure ports, trading links and airlines can still operate if Britain trades with the EU on WTO rules.
Brexit Secretary David Davis informed delegates at the Conservative Party Conference that there is a special department in Whitehall dedicated to creating plans for the possible event of "no deal." No details for these plans have been disclosed, but if what Sir Jeremy and Mr. Davis say is true, it is time to leave these discussions.
The EU knows that Britain holds all the cards in these talks. They are frightened that when they lose the UK's budgetary contributions, they will suffer. They fear German car manufacturers and French winemakers will turn against the European project if they fail to implement a trade deal with the UK. The trading bloc's survival is riding on these talks.
Britain wins somehow
Whichever option the UK chooses for post-Brexit EU trade, Britain wins somehow. Its future beyond the EU is positive. Brussels know that if they provide the UK with a generous free trade deal, other nations will want the same. This is the beginning of the end of their dream of European federalism.
When students explore the EU's end in years to come, Brexit will be the most significant factor.
Other events will have played a part; the Italian banking crisis, open borders and, more recently, Catalonia declaring independence from Spain. Brussels has created its own problems due to its authoritarian nature.
It's time Mr. Davis called Mr. Barnier's bluff; if the Civil Service has truly prepared for a "no deal" scenario, it's time to walk away.
