In my judgement we have traded a very good and influential position within the EU - outside of the Euro, Shengen, Social Chapter with numerous rebates - for the deal that has now been struck. As most commentators seem to acknowledge, it is pretty minimalist.
The prize is our apparent independence and ability to behave as Global Britain - something the Spartans (Cash, Francois, Bone etc all independently older men of independent means) apparently view as key even though other members of the EU trade perfectly well with China and other blocs already. It was not our membership of the EU that has prevented us being more successful in this context.
The price of all of this has been the incredible rancour and division of the past 4 years; equally, the break up of the UK looks highly likely. NI is essentially still in the EU through the withdrawl agreement and are likely to look more and more toward Dublin especially as the population of NI is almost 50% Nationalist. Equally, it is hard to see how the position re a referendum in Scotland can be maintained. Scottish independence is more an emotional than economic issue as they see it (just like Brexit) and a view that they can thrive as a small trading nation just like NZ. The behaviour of Boris and his cronies just builds the case day by day - the Scots do not in any way relate to him.
One final point. The deal that has been done with the EU was essentially delivered for the UK by dedicated civil servants in the Foreign Office in Brussels and the no 10 unit. They worked day and night for months at a time with no days off. Interestingly, Boris made virtually no mention of this and showed already that he is not on top of the detail of what's been agreed in any case. It was just more bluff and bluster just like he has handled the whole Covid crisis. I wonder if he now recognises that Civil Servants are actually an incredible asset to both him and the UK? Interestingly, there has been virtually no mention of CS reform as a priority since the departure of Cummings.
I appreciate my views differ from most who post on this subject but it never does any harm to recognise that there are still and will be for years very conflicting views on the wisdom of what has been done. The proof will ultimately be in terms of the prosperity and indeed survival of the UK. I hope those who voted for it - especially in the poorer areas of the North and Wales - do not live to regret it.

Sinn Fein the same?????

Really - as one of the three biggest countries and the creator of the Single Market. No influence?

In terms of economics I think we will know for sure within five to ten years....probably a little less well off initially. So at least it won't be as as long as analyzing the affects of the French revolution eh.

"Outside of economics, I suspect that, as with life, this will be better for some and worse for others."

It seems that at faced with the reality of the deal rather than the lies of the last fours years the bar has dropped

stirling says tat "Outside of economics, I suspect that, as with life, this will be better for some and worse for others."

How that is different from being in the European Union and living in a fiecly neoliberal Britain I cannot see.

1. Trade with the EU will be tariff-free and involve minimal bureaucracy

Not acording to the deal.

2. Northern Ireland border 'absolutely unchanged'

There will be customs procedures for goods crossing the Irish Sea because Northern Ireland will have access to the EU customs union while remaining in the U.K. customs union.

The reality is that it will involve paperwork checks and border control posts (though not physically at the border) to undertake physical checks on some plant and animal products.

3. End supremacy of EU law and the EU's Court of Justice

Johnson insisted at a press conference Thursday afternoon that the deal includes no role for the Court of Justice of the EU. It will be worth waiting for the legal text of the deal to be sure. But Northern Ireland will remain subject to EU customs union and single market rules, which will be overseen by the Court of Justice. So it would be wrong to suggest the entire U.K. will not be subject to judgments from the court.

4. Take back control on immigration and asylum, and cut migration to the tens of thousands

yes, probably got this one...probably accepting that BREXIT as about immigration all along.

5. Britain will take back control of its fisheries

There is a long transition period and the fishermen feel betrayed, so I think the working class fishermen are unlikely to get a lot of support from the Tories and the BREXITeers in the long run.

6. £350M for the NHS instead of being sent to Brussels

Utter bulls***.

7. New trade deals, and access to a European trading zone 'from Iceland to Russia'

The UK signed a deal with Japan, which was largely based on the deal Japan has with the EU, although the U.K. did negotiate some different terms. It has also signed a number of rollover agreements the EU has with other nations.

8. Continue cooperating on security issues and counter-terrorism

The most important change is that the U.K. will no longer have direct, real-time access to EU security databases, such as on passenger records, criminal records, DNA and fingerprints. The deal allows for "ambitious and timely arrangements" to share such data, according to an EU document.

The U.K. will continue to observe the European Convention on Human Rights, and could see law enforcement and judicial cooperation cut off if it fails to do so. It will also have to adhere to strict data standards.

There will be "cooperation" between Europol and Eurojust, but that will amount to nothing more than what other third countries get when dealing with the EU. However, in other areas, such as the extradition of criminals, the cooperation will be closer than with third countries.

a loss not a plus here.

9. Financial protection for farmers who get cash from Brussels

The government will implement a new regime in the years to 2025 that will change the rules for funding farmers in England. Cash will be tied not to the amount of land, as in the EU system, but to whether that land is used for public good.

It is unclear whether, in the long run, farmers stand to receive the same amount of money as they do now, as Vote Leave promised.

10. Continued participation in EU science research schemes, deeper cooperation on scientific collaboration, plus increased funding for science

we have stayed in line with a number of european projets, but the U.K. will not take part in the Erasmus scheme, the university exchange program under which thousands of U.K. students attend EU institutions each year. Johnson said it was too expensive and a net loss for Britain, but he said a new scheme would be launched, named after Alan Turing, which will seek to help students attend universities around the world.

11. Wages will be higher

Come on, the Tories in favour of higher wages for working people. You hve to have a low credibility threshold for that one to stick.

12. The union will be stronger

Gove argued on the Andrew Marr show during the referendum: “If we vote to leave, then I think the union will be stronger. Scottish nationalism has grown since we entered the European Union. There wasn’t a Scottish Nationalist MP elected at any general election when we were outside the EU.”

But in recent months, repeated polls have shown that Scotland would vote for independence if given another referendum, with Brexit a particular grievance for Scottish National Party voters. The debate is turning to whether Johnson will be able to hold off on granting one if the SNP wins big in Scottish elections in 2021.

...unless we act like China does towards Hong Konh this is very unlikely.

13. Cut VAT on energy bills to save the average household £64 a year

EU rules do mean that the U.K. is unable to cut VAT on energy bills below 5 percent. Outside the EU it can. But Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who also backed Brexit, has not announced that the government will make the change. The promise remains outstanding.

14. Scrap VAT on sanitary products

Johnson won a concession from Brussels when he struck the Withdrawal Agreement that the so-called “tampon tax” would not apply to Northern Ireland if it remains in the customs union, which it will. So that's a checkpoint for Vote Leave.

Great - but hardly a really big win to make the loses worthwhile.

15. The new treaty should be ready within two years and before the next election (which was May 2020)

That did not happen. it was never going to happen and was a lie for the gullible to gobble up.

it will be good in the coming months to look at how the BREXITEER bulls*** stands up or is water down to "I suspect that, as with life, this will be better for some and worse for others." I can't remember hearing that on the campaign trail from the flaming pants boys of Brexit.

Now that is has arrived, what a load of tosh BREXIT actually is.

Edited by Stirlingsays (26 Dec 2020 11.21pm)