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Has the penny dropped? Telegraph asks ‘what is the point of Brexit?’

The Telegraph took leave of its pro-Brexit crusade last week after it questioned whether the UK’s divorce from the EU has really been all it’s cracked up to be.

Assistant editor Jeremy Warner engaged in a war of words with the government, saying they seem “intent on wasting our sovereignty”.

He added that it is now “abundantly clear” that the deal struck with the EU was a “terrible deal for Britain” that imposes “multiple different obstructions on trade”.

Warner warned it could also “seriously damage the integrity of the union with Northern Ireland.”

Shortages

Last week the boss of the Food and Drink Federation said that the days when UK consumers could expect to pick up nearly whatever product they want whenever they want from supermarket shelves are over as post-Brexit changes bite hard.

Ian Wright, the body’s chief executive, said that a shortage of lorry drivers is largely to blame, with the farm to fork supply chain missing around half a million of the four million people that usually work in the sector.

“It’s going to get worse, and it’s not going to get better after getting worse any time soon,” Mr Wright told listeners at an event organised by the Institute for Government.

Northern Ireland

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has also said he fears unrest on the streets of Northern Ireland over the Brexit protocol.

Sir Jeffrey was speaking after warning his party’s ministers will resign from the Stormont Executive if changes to the protocol are not delivered by November.

Earlier this year, there was significant disorder with loyalist anger at the protocol forming a border in the Irish Sea blamed.

Sir Jeffrey said he fears a return to that.

“The protocol is creating significant political instability,” he told the BBC’s Political Thinking podcast.

“Earlier in the year we had people back out on the streets again.

“There was civil unrest, there was violence on the streets.

“I don’t want that to happen, I want Northern Ireland to be peaceful, prosperous, stable but I’m worried that if this protocol continues and people become more fearful about the future, then again we will see people back out on the streets, and that is not good because it has the potential for further unrest.”

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Jack Peat

Jack is a business and economics journalist and the founder of The London Economic (TLE). He has contributed articles to VICE, Huffington Post and Independent and is a published author. Jack read History at the University of Wales, Bangor and has a Masters in Journalism from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

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Tags: Brexit