Contrary to scare tactics of professional Remainers, trading under WTO rules would be no problem for Britain

Last weekend’s Chequers summit, where Theresa May outlined her strategy for leaving the EU, sparked the resignation of two of the Cabinet’s leading Brexiteers. Unveiling the actual details has made matters even worse. That’s because the Government’s long-awaited Brexit White Paper makes a nonsense of Mrs May’s previously declared “red lines”, betraying the June 2016 referendum result.

The UK apparently accepts that disputes over trade with the EU should be referred to the European Court of Justice for interpretation – an EU-dominated court. Mrs May’s tortuously complex Facilitated Customs Arrangement, meanwhile, will have a “phased” implementation. So we may stay wholly inside the EU’s protectionist customs union, our consumers paying over the odds for a host of imports, until mid-2022.

EU workers, we’re told, will enjoy visa-free travel for “temporary” employment, with businesses able to “move their talented people” across the Channel at will, upending promises to take back control of our borders.

According to some reports, the White Paper can’t now be altered because it was “cleared with Mrs Merkel” ahead of Chequers. And this is just the UK’s opening pitch to the European Commission – so there will be many more concessions to come.