Brexit is still bad for us. So, can common sense prevail?

It is also more difficult to import from Europe, whether finished products purchased by consumers or raw materials and intermediate products that our manufacturing companies need. This makes it harder for UK businesses to compete. Why would a European customer source here if they can get the same product from an EU supplier without the added costs, delays or uncertainty?

This reduces investments. An international company needs more good reasons to set up here when it can access a much larger market without any constraints by investing in the EU. Yes, we continue to attract businesses, but not as much as we would if we had access to a market of 500 million people. And it's harder to make the case to get the investment we're making.

The biggest challenge facing most businesses remains access to skills and labor. This is the case in sectors ranging from hospitality and tourism to life sciences and advanced manufacturing. Leaving the European single market has made it harder not only for businesses but also for our NHS to fill the gaps it has in doctors, nurses and social workers.

This makes it harder for us to travel and for young people to access experiences and networks at universities and workplaces across the continent. It is important. For current and future generations.

Yet despite the clear evidence that a significant majority think leaving the EU was a mistake, with polls consistently showing a 15% lead for Rejoin in the UK, and much higher in Scotland, none of the UK parties argues in favor of a return to Brexit. It is rare that a majority position of the British population is so poorly defended by its political class.

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Even the Lib Dems now say Rejoin is unrealistic, with leader Ed Davey saying it's for the birds. Worse still, there is not even any movement towards a softer form of Brexit. Remember that the 2016 referendum answered a simple question: should the United Kingdom leave the European Union? Nothing about the single market, the free movement of workers or the customs union, in which non-EU countries already participate to varying degrees.

Ultimately, political gravity and economic common sense might prevail. Perhaps in the coming years the UK could gradually realign itself with the EU single market. Barriers that are patently absurd will be removed. It will be a long process and, in the meantime, this self-inflicted damage will have caused irreparable setbacks to our economy.

Rarely in the history of trade agreements has a country negotiated an agreement that reduced, rather than increased, market access. And the agreements with third countries outside the EU have been nothing but a mirage. The more than 40 deals that the EU has already concluded around the world have been accepted by the UK in recognition that the deals that the EU managed to negotiate due to its size were the best on offer or, like the deals with Australia and New Zealand, involved compromising key sectors, in this case our agricultural sector, in order to get a deal, any deal, signed in haste.

The only part of the UK that has managed to avoid some of the worst impacts of Brexit is Northern Ireland. The protocol allows it to benefit from a foothold in the UK and EU markets, a deal which the Scottish Government believes would also work very well in Scotland's interests, but which has been roundly rejected by the UK Government.

So yes, this week's report is nothing special. Just another reminder of the damage Brexit has caused. But sometimes it's important to step back, look at the bigger picture, and remember that we don't need to be here.

Things can be better. The UK and of course Scotland have other options. And we shouldn't be afraid to make that point.