If politics were drawn as a Venn diagram then in the middle of the interlocking circles would be austerity. The common thread that runs through the Brexit vote, the general election result and the public outpouring following the Grenfell Tower tragedy is concern about public services and falling living standards. Anxiety is rapidly turning to anger as people start to feel the impact of decisions taken in Westminster on their own lives. This is what Theresa May must understand as the government embarks on negotiations with the European Union.

The prime minister has always interpreted the result of the EU referendum as being primarily about immigration, arguing that the priority in any deal must be to curtail the free movement of people. By contrast, the