Deals with the US, Japan, Australia and New Zealand will prepare the country for future EU-related bumps in the road.
Furthermore, the change creates a brand new cart to put before the horse – that’s to say, the awaited defence and security review.
Some of the solutions being proposed for UK trade talks would make it a pariah state in the WTO community.
The formal deadline for agreeing an extension to the transition period is close, but Britain is unlikely to ask for one.
Take it from me that the US would walk away from talks if we tried to make the adoption of UK rules a precondition of any FTA.
The choice could have profound consequences for the future of the UK economy, not just for next year but for decades.
A WTO exit at the end of 2020 is not the probable outcome – but the risk does look under-priced.
As a former Chief Secretary to the Treasury, I am uneasy about the bail-out of Flybe. Every time a private business is bailed out by the taxpayer, the pressure grows.
Twelve months on from Thursday’s election, Johnson faces an unpalatable choice – and Cabinet resignations…
We are on course for a WTO Brexit. Given the opinion polls, the media’s attention would be best focused on the implications of such an outcome for the country.
It is capitalising on voters who weren’t born in the era of state monopolies having no idea how much worse these companies were under Corbyn’s dinosaur model.
Economic competence has been the cornerstone of the Conservative appeal. Remove that cornerstone and the entire structure becomes fragile.
At stake here is whether Britain ultimately repatriates meaningful economy policy, or remains only ever one small step away from EU re-entry.
For many, WTO terms are good enough for trade and the compromises required for a deal are politically unacceptable.