The Brexit truth that needs to be spoken was stated on the World at One yesterday by former Tory MP Matthew Parris, who said:

The right of the Conservative party – the hardline Brexiteers – certainly want to keep her in place, because they have her as a sort of captive in Downing Street and they don’t know who they will get otherwise.

Brexit is dying, Brexit is in terrible trouble – and with every month that passes, the difficulties become clearer, and the Remain side of the argument becomes stronger. The last thing Brexiteers want is a new leader of the Conservative party and a fresh approach to these negotiations, that would be very far from Mrs May’s Lancaster House speech.

For once I had to agree with him. I think Brexit is dying precisely because it is in terrible trouble. But I stress it is not the logistical nightmare of the issue that is killing it, however hard that issue might be. It is the consequences of the attempt to Brexit that are causing the problems.

People are realising we live in a world where integration is essential, and where mutual safety on vast numbers of issues demands it.

And they are realising that being out of the EU imposes very real costs that they will bear.

What is more, they now can't see what the proposed benefits of those additional costs are.

In the meantime few like living in a country where one of the biggest changes in our modern history is being managed by a government that so very obviously does not have the authority to deliver it.

Brexit is now a total shambles, and it can only get worse. Parris was right to say so. And sometime someone is going to have to say it's time to stop it. And that, I suspect, is the reason why May will have to go, sooner than she wishes.