A Brexit transition deal could make things worse

As the sort of treacherous, Britain-hating invertebrate who betrayed his Queen and country by voting Remain and still doesn’t believe leaving the EU will make us happier or richer, I should welcome Theresa May’s Florence speech. It is, after all, confirmation that the British Government has – far, far later than it should have done – accepted political, diplomatic and economic reality.

Remember, not too long ago we were being told that Britain would pay nothing to the EU after March 2019, that there would be a complete end to ECJ jurisdiction, that ‘no deal’ was nothing to fear and that those semi-mythical German carmakers would force the EU to give us a favourable trade deal, pronto. That’s all gone now, at least among members of the reality-based community. But I still can’t quite bring myself to open my (French, obviously; I hate Britain) champagne today over the formal UK pitch for a transition with financial contributions.