Will Boris’s oven-ready Brexit be burnt to a crisp by the EU?

One of Boris Johnson’s best lines of the election was his description of Brexit as “oven-ready.” The question Britain’s new Prime Minister has to decide now is how Brexit will be cooked.

Will it be a perfectly roasted golden brown bird, tender on the inside and crispy on the outside? Or barbecued out of existence by a vengeful European Union intent on keep the UK as closely aligned as possible?

Other than the repetitive – but clearly effective – slogan of “Get Brexit Done”, Johnson has not given any hints as to how he wants his Brexit cooked, or even flavoured. 

Theoretically, the size of Johnson’s parliamentary majority gives him the authority to be head chef in the kitchen, free to take the UK out of the EU after four years of tortuous gridlock and to define a new trade relationship with the EU by end of 2020.