time traveller from 2016 would be bemused by the current economic debate around Brexit.
Think back to the referendum. The Treasury published its controversial report laying out the “long-term economic impacts” of leaving. It saw three feasible scenarios: remaining in the single market (like Norway); a bilateral free-trade agreement (FTA, like Canada); or trading on World Trade Organisation terms. Economists for Brexit argued that the UK should unilaterally slash tariffs upon EU exit; Vote Leave talked up striking free-trade deals with non-EU countries. The single market was a major point of debate. But nobody (Leave or Remain) thought a customs union with the EU was a politically viable or…