A good Brexit in 2020 is better than a bad one now

The deal that will come before Parliament next week represents a devastating failure of British statecraft. It would keep most of the costs of EU membership while junking most of the benefits. It would require Britain to cede part of its territory to foreign jurisdiction. It would allow Brussels to control our commerce with non-EU states even after we leave.

MPs who believe in parliamentary sovereignty should vote against it. MPs who believe in the Union should vote against it. MPs who believe in free trade should vote against it. MPs who believe that there is such a thing as national honour, and who recognise that we are being treated in a calculatedly vindictive way, should toss it out with especial force.

They should do so even if the alternative is a delay to Brexit. They should do so, indeed, even though such a delay might allow the Mandelsons and Blairs to step up their campaign for a second referendum. A postponement, undesirable as it is, is less damaging than accepting permanently disadvantageous terms.

As Lord King, the former Bank of England Governor, put it: “There are arguments for remaining in the EU and arguments for leaving. But there is no case whatever for giving up the benefits of remaining without obtaining the benefits of leaving.”