It was jam tomorrow at the Tory party conference, at least according to Liz Truss

Over at a fringe meeting held by the Centre for European Reform, business minister Greg Hands proffered an interesting theory on why we will probably never rejoin the EU. By the time of the next election, he argued, we will have joined the Pacific free trade zone CPTPP and have trade deals with Australia, New Zealand and potentially India and maybe even the US (keep dreaming). “It’s very difficult to see how either rejoining the EU, the customs union or the single market would be compatible,” he said. This assumes, of course, that all of the deals will result in large new trade flows. I wish I could be that optimistic.