Is not the UK taking back 25% of the quotas allocated to EU members - spread out over 5 years? That's an extra 5% p.a. and may be all that the UK fleet has the capacity to absorb. Given that most of this fish will be sold back to the EU in any case and the UK s incurring the costs of catching it, all that's left for the Brits is whatever profit margin is made on the fish which is a small % of a small %.

Not v. significant in the grand scheme of things especially if an independent Scotland takes much of it away with them in due course.

What the agreement does do (besides saving Irish agricultural exports) is ensure that any UK decline will be a slow burn rather than an abrupt collapse. I'm sure the French won't make it easy for non-essential goods to pass through Calais, but that's another story. UK manufacturing is dying on its feet in any case, and and can't see the EU granting equivalence for UK services any time soon.

But most Brexiteers I have blogged with seem happy to move on at this stage. I'm not sure they realise just how profound the long term cumulative effects will be.

Index of Frank's Diaries