Ten things we’ve learnt about the Brexit deal

The UK-EU trade deal has now been operating for a month, and the lengthy queues at ports and empty supermarket shelves predicted by some (the ‘cliff edge’ we heard so much of) have failed to materialise. But equally, it is clear that businesses were not fully prepared for new trade arrangements and that EU trade rules on agri-food products are extremely restrictive. 

The last month has also confirmed that the Northern Ireland Protocol is unworkable. If unchecked, it will seriously harm the province’s economy. The UK government needs to be ready to take radical unilateral action, if necessary, to alter it.

But what else have we learnt about the deal? Here are ten quick lessons from the last month:

Fears of long queues at ports have proved groundless:

For several years we have been assailed with claims that the UK leaving the EU customs union and single market would lead to massive queues at UK ports, snaking back for many miles.