Au revoir

So yes, we actually left the EU at the end of January but the subsequent transition period had at least kept all of the benefits in place since then. That all ended at 11pm, this evening. Now we are most definitely out.

It's been four and half years since an advisory referendum, won only by a small margin, was taken as a definite decision to leave. In all that time, no one has ever come up with a single tangible benefit as far as I'm aware.

The 'sovereignty' argument is no argument at all; every nation that is a member of the EU is sovereign, otherwise how could they have signed up to join in the first place?

Everything else is just worse than it was when were in the EU. Even the trade deals that Liz Truss has rolled over are either identical to the deal we had via the EU or are now worse (e.g. the deal with Japan where our share of the cheese quota is now whatever is left over after the EU has used it).

Just today, the government has published examples of the new paperwork required to trade with the EU by sector and, my God, it is an absolute nightmare. What's worse is that the paperwork is required on both sides, so EU customers of British companies are likely to look for new suppliers within the EU.

The saddest thing I saw was a clip of an older guy who'd voted Leave, believing it would open up new markets for his business. Now he's faced with a very parlous future for his company and its ten employees. I guess you could argue he brought it on himself; I don't think he knew what he was voting for.

Today's photo isn't a sunset, though; it's a sunrise. It's not that I'm confident we'll rejoin the EU anytime soon; to be honest, I doubt they'd take us back. But I have read articles by people whom I consider to be better informed on this than I am and they reckon the trade agreement - gruel-thin as it is - contains a roadmap back into the single market and customs union, and that I do feel optimistic about.

Until then I guess we just muddle through, although if Scotland leaves the union and rejoins the EU, I'll be up the road like a shot. Mind you, I expect there'll be a queue even longer than the ones we saw at the ports a few days ago and that look set to return next week.

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Reading: 'Mayflies' Andrew O'Hagan