If you live in Yorkshire, today is Yorkshire Day. I do, so I will wish you Happy Yorkshire Day! If you are in Switzerland, today is the Swiss National Day. And the Swiss have a lot to celebrate. They have a good working relationship with the European Union, but do not have Brussels' bureaucrats meddling in their laws. Switzerland is fourth on Heritage Foundation's Index of Economic Freedom - and the freest country in Europe. 

Over the past year, the term 'despite Brexit' has been used to describe (with some irony) all the good news that has been reported in the UK economy. It has been used in countless headlines, articles and op-eds by newspapers like the FT, the Guardian and the Independent to illustrate - often with high levels of shock - how well the UK economy is doing in comparison to what they expected.

In the House of Commons this morning, Nigel Evans, Conservative MP for Ribble Valley, asked Dr. Liam Fox MP, Secretary of State for International Trade, the following question: 

"I think that the potential for trade with Commonwealth countries is very exciting—they are growing and strong economies—but every time I open a newspaper or listen to the radio or TV, the story is presented very negatively, as though it will be almost impossible for us to do these trade deals. Does the Secretary of State feel that that is wrong, and that it undermines the work he is doing?"