John Brian Shannon has spoken.

"The UK is leaving. That's guaranteed. The people of the UK are a hardy breed and they have survived much worse than Brexit that's for certain! And they will simply adopt EEA and/or EFTA rules and still preserve their unique identity and culture, and regain their sovereignty."

Well John, as the saying goes "It ain't over till it's over".

Here's another scenario.

Britain is an insufferably arrogant little country that had to be rescued from the Two World Wars that it thought it could win just by turning up. It may have created a trade war with the EU and if it has then it will be another war that it cannot win - nothing new there. The aim of Brexit is to make Britain better off outside the EU. The aim of the EU is to make Britain far worse off outside the EU to deter others from trying to follow Britain. History teaches us that when a single country takes on an alliance of many other countries then there is only ever going to be one winner. It's just a matter of time. The EEA and/or EFTA won't save us nor the WTO nor the Norway model.

The EU is a noble vision created by far sighted visionaries who do not want to risk a return to the killing fields of 20C Europe. The vision is invisible to short-sighted reactionaries who want to return to nationalism and isolation that led eventually to The Great Dying in The Age of Slaughter and those killing fields.

Already the Brexit campaign has been revealed as a tissue of misrepresentation, deceit, and lies that has been abandoned by its two main protagonists, Farage and Johnson, and left May to pick up the pieces. Cameron didn't resign because he lost the referendum but because he knew what was coming.

As a result of its pig-headed arrogance Britain unwittingly has forced Brussels into a corner. If Brussels is to save its vision then it cannot risk other nations following Britain's example and the only way to do that is to ruin Britain and thus deter others. Brussels will not negotiate the four basic freedoms - movement of goods, services, capital, and labour - and Britain cannot negotiate with an EU that is not willing to negotiate.

Britain will try to replace its lost trade by finding new markets. When it offers one market of 60 million people then the EU will step in and offer 27 markets of 600 million people. It is not too difficult to predict which option the new market will choose. The USA will put immense irresistible pressure on Britain to remain in the EU which it regards as an instrument of cooperation for promoting peace, harmony, and prosperity in the world. It will not tolerate an infuriating xenophobic little upstart spoiling things and will encourage the EU to do us over - secretly of course.

Our new Prime Minister has said "Brexit means Brexit. We will get the best deal possible for Britain." When the best deal promises poverty in the short term and ruin in the long term then one way or another Brexit will become Bremain.

And when the fat lady sings it will be the uplifting "Star Spangled Banner" not the dreary "God save the queen".

