Something IS going to happen, unless Brexit somehow causes a tidal wave to destroy a small city or major town in the UK something IS going to happen.
Whether this involves us pushing article 50, I don’t know, but it probably will.
The things is, this isn’t some IN/OUT argument that the referendum promised – whatever happens we need to have some sort of agreement with Europe – unless we fancy being in either a defacto trade embargo with Europe and the rest of the world, as our existing trade agreements with the rest of the world are EU ones and other countries won’t accept them just for little old us as we don’t have the leverage, they can also take years, even decades to thrash out – we might as well start digging up out gardens to grow crops now if we do that.
Policy makers will try to find an agreement that lets the maximum amount of voters feel they can say “told you so” to people who voted the other way.
The EEA looks a pretty shit deal to me, whichever way you cut it, either per capita or as a % of GDP it’s going to cost roughly what it costs us now to access it (forget the £350m a week bullshit) and comes with free movement of workers, but who knows – Leave was based a web of lies, it actually solves some of their problems – the total payment falls, and we “take control” even if it means we lose any input into the EU (so no more MEPs).
I suspect the close result, post vote fall out, the change in leader and the number of voters claiming to have changed their mind will be enough for someone to cut a ‘new deal’ with the EU and we might just remain with some concessions to immigration and spending.
But as so many people said before the vote, The UK has been left looking pretty grubby after last week.