The starting gun has been fired on what will be the strangest general election in my lifetime – and not just because we will be canvassing in the dark, and very possibly the snow.

A general election was always going to be a bad way to resolve the Brexit issue since it is about so many other things. But, in the absence of a majority in parliament to support a Brexit deal or to hold a confirmatory referendum, it is the only way forward. And it is the last chance to stop Brexit.