If you thought you'd had your fill of Brexit news in 2017, think again.

Getting through the first gate of the negotiation was hard enough, but, within the next nine months, we need to arrive at a place that frames the outline of an agreement that Britain and 27 other states can sign up to as the basis for formal departure in 2019. Not all of that will be a long-term trade deal. There will be much to play out in a further two-year implementation period.