T heresa May’s new year message was a plea to MPs to back her beleaguered Brexit deal so the UK can “turn a corner” and focus on the stuff that really matters to people – housebuilding, education, the NHS.

In the prime minister’s vision for 2019, the country is itching to “start a new chapter”, once this pesky business of pulling out of the EU is carried out on 29 March – but how realistic is this?