UK and EU face 'Brexiternity' as building new ties will take years

WHETHER an EU-UK deal is ratified or not, the UK faces major changes in 2021.

However, one big constant in the relationship will be the monumental time and effort that, post-2016, UK governments will continue to need to devote to the Brussels-based club.

This is one of the great ironies of the UK's vote to leave the EU. Despite a referendum that saw around 52 per cent of the population apparently voting for cutting ties with the EU, London has since devoted huge attention to Europe as it negotiated exit terms, more so than perhaps almost all previous post-war administrations did before the Brexit vote.