Heaven preserve us from pundits and experts. The national Brexit debate has spawned more expert forecasts than the Met Office in a hurricane. We have had predictions of the Third World War (David Cameron), a punishment Budget(George Osborne), the end of civilization (Donald Tusk), a house price crash (the Treasury) and, on the other side of the coin, an extra £350 million a week for the NHS (Vote Leave) and a clampdown on immigration (just about everyone in the Brexit camp). And that is to ignore altogether Mark Carney’s consistently inaccurate predictions.

So, against that record and with some hesitation, this is my “go” at the Brexit prediction game: Brexit will, over time, prove good for family stability and marriage rates. And for me as chairman of the Marriage Foundation, after forty years in the business of family justice, (fourteen as a family High Court judge) witnessing the endless river of human misery unleashed by the collapse of the nuclear family since the 1970s, that would be good news indeed. Yes, I am cautiously optimistic.

This week is International Marriage Week, an annual event focusing our minds both as individuals and collectively on the vital importance of marriage as one of the most powerful forces for good in society. So, with that in mind, let me explain why our decision to exit the European Union and revert to full self-government of the UK might revive marriage and enhance family stability.