After four and a half painful years, we have reached the end of the beginning of Brexit. We have a deal. It is, inevitably, a damaging deal for the British economy compared with remaining inside the EU. But it is far better than the stupidity of no deal. Above all, it maintains a working relationship with the UK’s close neighbours and principal economic partners.
No responsible government would leave mere days for businesses to adjust to the complexities of this new situation. Still less would it do so in the midst of a pandemic. This will remain a foolish and unnecessary divorce. But the reality of Brexit may even bring some benefits.
The EU should already have seen some. It would almost certainly have been unable to agree its €750bn pandemic recovery fund if the UK had remained at the table. From now on, the EU will be able to move faster towards its shared objectives.