1/ Some thoughts on the objections to the Chequers plan by Brexiters. Much of the "We didn't vote for that" argument is based on sovereignty. But the Leave campaign also made economic claims. Let's unpack that.
2 There were positive economic claims ("sunlit uplands") and negative ones ("chained to a corpse"). The £350 million fib assumed no economic loss, only benefit. "Project Fear" was deployed to dismiss every Remain argument about economic risk.
3 More specifically on trade: an EU/UK free trade deal (so no mandate for no deal), and joining a European wide free trade zone. Let's examine the latter. 
4 There's no such free trade zone as an entity, but pretty much all the countries concerned have free trade deals with each other. The most significant are trade deals with the EU, as the largest economic actor in Europe, negotiating as a bloc.
5 As we know, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein participate in the single market, by virtue of the EEA Treaty. This entails applying the relevant EU law. Brexiters might say they didn't mean those countries (although they mentioned Norway when it suited them).
6 Switzerland. Whether it's technically "in" the internal market is a tedious argument. But it certainly agrees to shadow some aspects of EU law in a number of Swiss/EU treaties: eda.admin.ch/dea/en/home/bi…
7 Turkey. It has a form of customs union with the EU, so applies most EU trade policy. The customs union decision also requires Turkey to apply EU competition and state aid rules.
8 Two years later, an EU/Turkey decision harmonised Turkey to EU technical standards on goods. A 67 page list of them.
9 OK, the Western Balkans. Awkwardly their association agreements with the EU commit them to harmonisation to EU law. This is bolstered by the accession process.
10 Eastern associated countries. The EU/Ukraine treaty is over 2000 pages, mostly about detailed alignment with EU law. The word "directive" appears 800 times.
11 Yes, the harmonisation and enforcement details differ between these treaties. Yes, EU standards are sometimes based on international standards. But the notion that joining a European wide free trade area means unlimited regulatory freedom is nonsense.
12 One of the many issues arising from the referendum is the assertions the Leave campaign made about what EU will do. By definition a referendum cannot bind other countries, so voting on the premise that "The German carmakers will tell Juncker to jump" is an impossible mandate.
13 These objective facts won't change under another Brexit Secretary, or if Olly Robbins is sent to the Tower of London, or if every Remainer in the country wears a cheerleader outfit and chants "I believe in Brexit" 12 hours a day.
14 What the situation needs is one or more senior Brexiters to explain the situation more honestly, and to take responsibility for their actions. You can see why I am not optimistic. /end
