The withdrawal agreement comes into force next week.

The hard part will then begin, negotiating a free trade deal with the EU.

Much has been said by brexiteers about being prepared to walk away from a negotiation to get the best terms.

This is bunk. No-deal Brexit will be catastrophic. The EU knows it. The British government knows it. That doesn’t stop the posturing though.

In business, the size of your business dictates your bargaining position.

Small businesses get worse deals than big business.

The EU is big business. The UK is a small business. The UK is in a weak bargaining position. If Scotland and Northern Island break away from the UK, England and Wales will be in an even worse bargaining position.

I am sure that there will be some positive benefits coming out of Brexit which aren’t predictable, aren’t apparent now and won’t be apparent until they appear, out of the blue.

Not sure what these benefits will be. But I will keep you posted as and when they become visible.

In the meantime very few politicians in Government have woken up and smelt the coffee as Ian Dunt sets out in his clear and well-explained piece on where we are.