We had a lot on our plate already: Brexit was the last thing we needed

The young people of Britain are threatened not just by leaving the EU, but by the accumulation of problems created by neglect of public services

One of the many annoying aspects of the Brexit referendum fiasco is that it has diverted attention from so many pressing domestic economic and social problems.

Yet those of us who are unrepentant Remainers still regard the struggle as worthwhile. Brexiters may argue that the prospect of short-term economic damage was exaggerated during the campaign, and, as I acknowledged in a recent column, it was. But that this is a case of "so far, not so bad" is beside the point. The damage will hit us if we go ahead with leaving our largest market and indulge the extreme Brexiters' fantasy of contriving wonderful new markets in far less important countries from the trading point of view - markets, that, strangely enough, already exist.