Boris Johnson’s hopes of ‘moving on’ from Brexit will soon be crushed by reality

Inside Westminster: Whatever the prime minister might want, there will be no banishing of Brexit from the national lexicon next year

Boris Johnson wants to banish the B-word from the government’s lexicon when the UK leaves the EU on 31 January. The Department for Exiting the EU will be abolished. “Brexit” will not feature in official statements and ministerial speeches, in the hope that the public think it is “done”.

The “people’s government” will focus on the “people’s priorities” – the NHS, crime, schools and the cost of living. The message: the public doesn’t need to worry about those boring, highly technical talks about the UK’s future relationship with the EU. Just a media obsession.

In fact, the media will be right to obsess about it. The fine print of the trade deal will have a huge impact on the UK economy. Yet there has been remarkably little debate in the cabinet or the country about the trade-offs that will become inevitable.