The never-ending Brexit saga took yet another twist yesterday - with the Speaker of the House of Commons dealing a further blow to Boris Johnson's Brexit deal.
Jon Bercow's decision to rule out a further 'Meaningful Vote' on the deal means that it is still very much unknown what kind of Brexit we will get - and when.
But away from the complex world of Westminster, authorities in our region insist preparations are underway to make sure Merseyside is ready for Brexit - deal or no deal.
We checked in with Liverpool City Council and the combined authority to see what work is being done to make sure the city is ready.
What's happening in the city?
A spokeswoman for Liverpool council said they were working with other authorities across the city but had their own plans in place for Brexit.
She said the council were confident that the "vital services" provided by the council would continue regardless of the UK's exit from the EU.
The spokeswoman said: “We continue to work with all our partners across the city and the wider city region to have the most effective plans in place for a no-deal Brexit.
“The council has its own internal resilience plans including for social care, highways and regulatory services.
“Our engagement with the organisations and businesses we commission to provide services such as social care has been continuing for many months and, although details continue to emerge from central government, we are confident that our vital services will continue as usual.
“We have also made a commitment to our suppliers that we will pay invoices in a timely manner to support them with liquidity.”
The spokeswoman said that a lot of planning for Brexit also happened at The Local Resilience Forum, a meeting of key institutions like councils, police, and emergency services.
She said: “More widely, our work as part of the Local Resilience Forum continues to ensure that we transition smoothly to any new arrangements that may be put in place as well as our place on the Brexit Council, led by the Local Enterprise Partnership, which will be offering support to local businesses as we leave the EU.”
What's happening across the region?
Although each council is responsible for making sure their services are prepared for Brexit, the city region combined authority, with the metro mayor also has a wider strategic responsibility to prepare the region for Brexit.
Metro mayor Steve Rotheram said that Brexit would likely by "the most disruptive event for our country in most of our lifetimes".
He said that he was working to ensure people's jobs would be protected and that there was support available for the local economy.
Metro mayor Rotheram said: “We have approved £15 million for a Brexit Resilience Fund, specifically aimed at providing short-term, cash flow support to those businesses that rely on EU trade for a significant part of their turnover, as well as their supply chains.
“However, we also need central government to step up and ensure that we receive proper support for our port, airport and large employers like Jaguar Land Rover, Vauxhall and Unilever and their supply chains, which as well as being key parts of our local economy, are also vital strategic assets for the whole of the UK.”
The Brexit Resilience Fund was approved by the combined authority earlier this month.
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