Let me tackle this 'believe all the scares' canard.   In any serious business project you develop a 'risk register', which is essentially what could go wrong, how serious such an event would be, how likely it is and what can be done to mitigate the risk.

That is sensible planning.

It is in complete contrast to the 'headless chicken, panicking over every scare story' approach. It is a sober investigation of possibilities and thinking through what could be done to stop them *becoming* a problem. And it includes very unlikely events if the possible effect is great enough.

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I agree, Nigel, that some leavers, and you are one, have accepted there will be a cost to the UK in the short term. Where we lack clarity is how big a cost and how long that will be for. When the 'break even' point is, if you like. Some remainers are not convinced there is a break even point at all.

The point I was making about the EU is that the social and political dimensions actually define why their negotiating stance is what it is. They don't just insist on the four freedoms because that is a convenient negotiating position: they form the whole rationale for the EU. So a comprise on them is exceedingly unlikely, and just talking about the impact on trade on the EU is too limited a view.