Brexit: What next for Hampshire?

However, a glance at the headlines that still pepper the national agenda and it is obvious that statement is far from reality.

If anything, the dust is being blown ever higher by the wind.

But if peering through the dust haze towards a new future – bright or gloomy – is not yet possible, we can at least take stock of where we are.

And let us be honest here, for some, many, we are more or less where they wished us to be.

Many of those who advocated departure from the EU knew that initially and probably for some time to come there will be a period of discomfort and confusion as the country comes to terms with what it has voted for and attempts to find a path towards that goal.

For others – and that includes many of those who hold office in national and local life as well as in the media, business and industry – the decision was a surprise and in many cases an unwelcome one. Their voices are loud and we are in danger, perhaps, of letting their bewilderment at the sudden change from the accepted norm unsettle us.

There are calls for action to be taken soon, for paths to be illuminated, decisions on what kind of new relationship we wish to have with the rest of Europe to be made clear without delay. All very understandable. Humans are creatures that do not thrive on chaos despite the old Confucian blessing that we might ‘live in interesting times’. Humans usually crave stability and order, something we have lost temporarily.

Yet a rush to rash statements of intention would lead to the rapid closing of doors and the blocking of routes before we can truly see what is the best way to move ahead.

What is needed then is a period of calm and stock taking, which thanks to the two-month process to choose a new Tory leader and Prime Minister is what we will now get.

Theresa May is seen as the frontrunner to succeed David Cameron

Only those who wish to keep the chaos at frenetic fever-pitch because it suits their purpose – step forward Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon – hope to avoid a sensible, measured approach to what will be undoubtedly a difficult road ahead.

We do know at least that all of the candidates to be Tory leader appear to agree that some form of stemming of the flow of immigration into the UK must be part of a new trade deal with the EU. A points system perhaps, which appears to threaten an end to mass migration to the UK of labourers and the unskilled. But then again all any government needs do is give priority points to rhubarb pickers in Lincolnshire and we are back to square one there.

In the end all candidates realise that the UK needs some immigration, even at a low skilled level. We cannot possibly hope to maintain the welfare state we wish – NHS, pensions, care – unless the economy grows and that needs commerce to thrive. Look at German’s recent actions in welcoming a million Middle Eastern refugees in the expectation that such numbers will stem the problems caused by a high-cost welfare state with too few people to fund it.

Here in Hampshire we have no special claim on the emerging new government to rush through their plans. Yet we can begin to form a coherent view from business and the electorate through local politicians as to what are our priorities when the green light is given and the negotiations begin.

Wishing to simply set the clock back isn’t possible. The people have spoken, we just have to interpret carefully what they have said.