Time to get this straight. Britain is set on leaving the world’s richest single market in order to re-apply for access on much less favourable terms to the very same market? Well, yes. Forget it; it will not happen. You Brits may hanker for the past, but you are not that dumb.
The further you travel from Europe, the wider the enduring gulf of incomprehension about Britain’s decision to leave the EU. In Washington, you still find the odd diehard in Donald Trump’s administration who thinks it a good idea. The president, though, has dropped talk about the break-up of the EU. As for a quick trade deal with post-Brexit Britain, Mr Trump has one of two more pressing items on his agenda.
The most frequent observation — and this applies to policymakers in Tokyo, Beijing, Delhi and beyond as well as in Washington — is that somehow Brexit just will not happen. Theresa May’s government, the voters, Germany’s Angela Merkel, France’s Emmanuel Macron — someone, somewhere — will derail the process. Britain will end up with some form at least of associate EU membership.