Brexit has never been deliverable under the terms that were promised. For more than two years, its political champions have sought to evade and disguise this reality. On 11 July 2016, David Davis, the Brexit Secretary, wrote that the UK could “negotiate a free trade area massively larger than the EU” by 2018. As recently as 20 July 2017, Liam Fox, the International Trade Secretary, predicted that a new British trade deal with the EU would be “one of the easiest in human history”.
The collision with reality has been painful. Britain has been forced to agree to a £35-39bn “divorce bill” and to a 21-month transition period (during which it will abide by all EU laws, including on trade and free movement). The higher NHS spending promised by Theresa May will not be funded by an illusory “Brexit dividend” but by tax rises.
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