At the same time the mood amongst the Brexiteers appears to be hardening. The sunny magnanimity shown by people like Daniel Hannan in the immediate aftermath of their referendum victory has been washed away in the autumn rain. The litigants are “remoaners,” they are “arrogant” and are trying to win through the courts what they have lost at the ballot box, and the Government's duty now is to invoke Article 50 by the end of March and get on with leaving the EU. The court proceedings are at best a tiresome nuisance. At worst they are a threat to democracy itself.

Such sentiments appear to be shared by the bulk of the Conservative Party. But are they right? Have the Brexiteer-dominated Conservatives, perhaps somewhat giddy with their own success, misunderstood the conservative principles that should guide their actions?

Most conservatives should in fact welcome the fact that the Parliamentarians have brought the question before the courts.

Conservatives should have a deep respect for the institution of the law. Radicals and Socialists may complain that it is but an instrument of the ruling class and so not worthy of respect: conservatives disagree. To a conservative, the rule of law is the first essential of a functioning civil society. Obviously, contracts must be honoured, wrongs righted and those accused of crimes acquitted and convicted; but above all the complex and mysterious mechanism of the British constitution, with its origins in the common law and a thousand years of history, must be respected. It is the foundation for our government and the ultimate guarantee of our whole way of life.