The Government must not send out the signal that any deal is better than no deal

Remainers might not have noticed, but the European Union is suffering from a sickness that has grown worse since the Brexit vote two years ago. Hungary and Poland are governed by illiberal populists. The far-Right sits in governing coalitions in Austria and Italy.

In 10 days, Right-wing populists are expected to surge in the Swedish elections. Nationalists have prospered in elections across Europe including the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany and the Netherlands. And the trend is likely to continue this year and next in elections to national parliaments and the European Parliament.

The liberal Europe dear to British Remainers is dying. Its leaders, however – both elected heads of government and the unelected panjandrums in Brussels – continue as before. France demands fiscal integration, Germany insists on migration quotas, and Brussels continues its uncompromising approach to Brexit.

The Prime Minister always knew that her Chequers Plan – problematic as it is – was only an opening pitch that would not survive its first contact with the EU negotiators. By proposing a customs policy that makes an independent trade policy unlikely, tying Britain to EU laws, and following the rulings of the European Court of Justice, Chequers erased the Government’s red lines, caused the resignations of David Davis and Boris Johnson, and set the Conservative Party ablaze.