A sovereign state (sometimes called an independent state) has the following qualities:
Space or territory that has internationally recognised boundaries (UK always had that in the EU)
People who live there on an ongoing basis (UK always had that in the EU)
Regulations governing foreign and domestic trade (UK always had that in the EU)
The ability to issue legal tender that is recognised across boundaries (UK always had that in the EU)
An internationally recognised government that provides public services and police power and has the right to make treaties, wage war, and take other actions on behalf of its people (UK always had that in the EU)
Sovereignty, meaning that no other state should have power over the country’s territory (UK always had that in the EU)
We also had 27 other countries to Trade with using Deals adapted and honed over 45 years, a stable Economy, a stable Currency, instant access to EU Terrorism and Crime Prevention and Detection Services, International Science Funding, International Business Investment (we’re going to have to compensate Japanese car manufacturers £millions if we Leave without a very good ‘Deal’), European Standards for Food Quality, Animal Welfare, Human Rights . . .
Now we have NO Trade Deals with ANY country of weight, but lovely lovely Trade Deals with Chile, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Norway, Iceland, Israel and Palestine, Switzerland, the Faroe Islands, Madagascar, Mauritius, the Seychelles Islands and, keeping the best for last – Zimbabwe. Well, at least we’ll be okay for bananas, which should really become our National Emblem. Oh, and the prospect of being swamped by cheap US products, so rather than having a Seat at the Top Table as a member of the EU, we get to be the 51st State of America.
We have had over 4 years to work out a Deal with the EU and we have achieved NOTHING. A last minute scrape together of a plan scribbled on the back of an envelope will be lauded as ‘Great for Britain’. Brexit is a cross between watching a Train Crash in slow motion and watching the Passengers on the Titanic cheering for the iceberg, despite being warned repeatedly that there are only enough Life Boats for the richest, the sea is bitterly cols, and this time there will be no Carpathia.