But this is no time for triumphalism, either. Those of us who’ve offered reasoned arguments for Brexit and been pilloried – dubbed thick, xenophobic and worse – could be forgiven for gloating over the electorate’s repeated refusal to be cowed by Remainer scare-tactics. Yet no good can come of that.

What’s important now, after a post-crisis decade of relative economic stagnation, compounded by these years of political conflict, is bringing the country back together. As such, the Prime Minister’s New Year’s message struck the right note. The sure knowledge we’re leaving on January 31 will allow people to “turn the page on the division, rancour and uncertainty” of this ghastly Brexit debate and look forward to “a fantastic year and a remarkable decade”.

As long as there was a chance Brexit might not happen, the EU was always going to exaggerate the potential downside and difficulties of leaving, in the hope of encouraging Remainers and upending public opinion. Now we’re definitely going, Brussels-based Eurocrats must see it makes sense to ensure Brexit happens smoothly and a trade deal is secured to everyone’s mutual benefit – even if unreconciled British MPs and commentators keep crying foul.

There have always been good arguments to stay in the EU. But the arguments to leave are far stronger – and the vast majority of British voters value national democracy far more than European nation-building, sensing the ongoing Brussels power grab has already gone too far.

What has never made sense is being half in and half out of the EU – with the UK bearing the financial and sovereignty costs, but with no say and few of the benefits. “Soft Brexit” – a notion invented only after the 2016 result – was always a con.

Only outside the EU’s single market and customs union can the UK “take back control of our laws, borders and money”, as voters were promised – reasserting the supremacy of British law, including a democratically accountable immigration system, without breaking the “four freedoms” that hold the EU together. This maximises the economic benefits of Brexit, while providing the quickest, least fraught route to a mutually beneficial UK-EU trade deal.