On this first day of 2026, let us start with some surprising New Year cheer: prospects for the British economy look better than they have for quite some time.
Recent weeks have seen a bizarre push by some Labour and Lib Dem politicians - including in major newspaper interviews - to rejoin the EU's customs union.
Almost 270,000 applications were rubber-stamped in 2024 - enough to fill cities the size of Newcastle, Brightonor Plymouth, and double levels seen a decade ago.