It鈥檚 not often that splits in the Cabinet are played out in public.
But arguments about Brexit are taking place openly, with the likes of Greg Clark, the Business Secretary, on one side, and Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, on the other.
The Government still can鈥檛 agree on what sort of Brexit deal it wants, with less than a year to go before we leave the EU in March 2019.
Mr Clark set out his position - which is also Prime Minister Theresa May鈥檚 position - in an interview with BBC journalist Andrew Marr,
He said that the 鈥淐ustoms Partnership鈥 idea proposed by Mrs May would help protect the car industry in the 海角视频. It goes without saying that this matters a great deal to the West Midlands, where the automotive sector is a major employer.
Unfortunately, it looks like Mr Clark and Mrs May are losing the argument.
That鈥檚 not to say they鈥檙e wrong. But they appear to be in a minority on the Cabinet sub-committee dealing with Brexit.
The majority of Cabinet Ministers on this committee oppose the Customs Partnership plan.
They include Mr Johnson, who, remarkably, described the Prime Minister鈥檚 proposal as 鈥渃razy鈥, in an interview with the Daily Mail.
The argument is about the EU's Customs Union
Mrs May鈥檚 Customs Partnership is an attempt to answer the question of what to do about the Customs Union.
This may sound like an esoteric question, but it鈥檚 important.
The Customs Union is the mechanism that allows products to be transported with more or less no restrictions between EU countries.
Instead of checking goods at the borders of each individual country, they just get checked at the borders of the Customs Union as a whole. So once they are inside the EU - or if they were manufactured in the EU in the first place - then no more checks are needed.
This is a big deal for carmakers
This matters a lot to the automotive sector, and to some other major manufacturers.
Carmakers have lengthy and complex supply chains. They don鈥檛 manufacture every component themselves, but instead employ other firms, their suppliers, to make parts for them.
These parts come from across the EU.
And big car companies don鈥檛 store parts in warehouses for any longer than they have to.
Instead, they operate what鈥檚 called a 鈥渏ust in time鈥 system of manufacturing.
That means they import parts as and when they are needed.
It works, because the parts make their way from the supplier to the carmaker quickly. But it would fall apart if they were stuck in a queue waiting to be checked by customs officials, which is what will happen if the 海角视频 leaves the Customs Union without an alternative arrangement in place.
But some supporters of Brexit have concerns
The trouble is that in order for a customs union to work, every country involved needs to have the same trade deals with the countries outside it.
For many Brexit supporters, that means we have to leave. Because they believe it鈥檚 essential that the 海角视频 can sign its own trade agreements with other parts of the world, independently of the EU.
So Theresa May has tried to find a compromise
Mrs May鈥檚 answer is to create a Customs Partnership.
It basically keeps the 海角视频 in a customs union with the EU. However, the 海角视频 would collect tariffs on any goods that came into the 海角视频 which were ultimately bound for the EU, and then hand the money to Brussels.
This way, the 海角视频 would still be able to import and export goods with the EU without delays, but it would also be free to sign its own trade deals.
Business Secretary Greg Clark is in favour
Setting out the arguments in favour of this option, Mr Clark suggested to Andrew Marr that some carmakers might only continue investing in the 海角视频 if an arrangement like this were put in place.
He said: 鈥淚 was talking this week to the global president of Toyota Motors. They鈥檙e making a big decision as to whether 鈥 where the next motor plant should be in Europe. We鈥檝e got a very successful one in Deeside at the moment, in North Wales. But there are choices as to whether that should be located on the continent.鈥
He added: 鈥淭he nature of that business is that parts come 鈥 or 50 per cent of the parts come from out of the country. They come through every hour of the day and night.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e not allowed to arrive at the part two hours early or two hours late.鈥
Some carmakers have been very vocal about their concerns. For example, they have given evidence to House of Commons Committees, highlighting the importance of maintaining some sort of customs union.
Jaguar Land Rover, which has plants in Birmingham and Solihull, has not been as outspoken.
But the points raised by other carmakers, and by Mr Clark, apply to JLR too.
But Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is against
Nonetheless, the Customs Partnership plan has been rejected by Mr Johnson.
He told the Daily Mail: 鈥淚f you have the new customs partnership, you have a crazy system whereby you end up collecting the tariffs on behalf of the EU at the 海角视频 frontier.
鈥淚f the EU decides to impose punitive tariffs on something the 海角视频 wants to bring in cheaply there鈥檚 nothing you can do.鈥
And many Cabinet Ministers agree with Boris
By all accounts, Boris is backed by Cabinet colleagues including Brexit Secretary David Davis, Environment Secretary Michael Gove, International Trade Secretary Liam Fox, Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson and Home Secretary Sajid Javid (the MP for Bromsgrove).
It means the Government currently doesn鈥檛 have a clear policy. It鈥檚 hard to see how agreement within the Cabinet can be reached.
But the continued uncertainty is not good for the car industry, which plays a vital role in the West Midlands economy.
