ON June 23, 2016, voters ­delivered a clear instruction to their politicians.

By opting for Brexit, they instructed us to withdraw the United Kingdom from the European Union and, in so doing, to take back control of our own borders, our own laws, our own money and our own destiny.

4 Corbyn needs to be careful not to fall into the Brexit trap

Since then, any early attempts at derailing our withdrawal from the EU have been resisted. Parliament voted to set the Brexit wheels in motion by triggering Article 50.

More recently, the legislation that will enable us to complete the journey to Brexit made it through the House of Commons. So far, so good.

But the track which takes us from where we are now to our final ­withdrawal from the EU is loaded with traps.

Those traps have been set by ­certain sections of the political class who remain intent on defying the instructions voters gave us two years ago for regaining control of our ­country’s destiny.

4 Frank Field has been the Member of Parliament for Birkenhead since 1979 Credit: Alamy

Very few of those responsible for setting the traps openly admit to their aims of derailing Brexit and keeping us in the EU. Most of them try to pretend they are merely looking to make improvements to the journey that will take us to Brexit.

Voters will seek revenge

Let’s get real. If Theresa May or Jeremy Corbyn get caught up in any of those traps, they won’t come ­anywhere near to meeting the ­country’s expectations for Brexit.

Those expectations centre upon:

Having in place a borders policy that delivers balanced migration and is accompanied by a skills and ­welfare reform strategy that helps young Brits earn a decent living;

Ensuring the laws that govern the land are set by our own lawmakers; and

Gradually regaining the total say over how British taxpayers’ money is spent.

Alongside this, we must also reposition Britain to trade freely with the rest of the world in the markets for food, services and manufactured goods. Food and clothing currently attract hefty tariffs if they are imported from outside the EU.

The ability to trade freely with any country and reduce or abolish those tariffs would make a massive difference to the living standards of hard-pressed families.

4 Millions of Labour voters supported Brexit in the referendum Credit: Getty - Contributor

It will also enable us to seek improvements in the standards attached to traded goods and services as well as the pay and conditions of the workers who produce them.

That is what the country expects from Brexit — a free-trading nation in control of its own destiny.

So if the anti-Brexit plotters ­manage to spring a trap or two on the Government or the Labour Party, voters will feel that yet again the political class has stuck two fingers up at them.

Quite naturally, they will seek revenge at the ballot box when ­candidates from the main political parties ask for their votes at the next General Election. Labour has the most to lose from getting itself caught up in an anti-Brexit trap.

Millions of Labour voters, living in the towns and villages which form our heartlands, supported Brexit in the referendum.

It was one of the most striking themes of referendum night to see safe Labour seat after safe Labour seat opting for Leave with thumping majorities.

Clearly voters in those parts of the country have, among other things, had enough of the open-borders policy and its impact on their living standards over the past decade.

Yet while the bulk of Tory MPs have voted consistently to get on with implementing the referendum result, barely half a dozen of us on the ­Labour benches have done so.

The potential consequences of such half-hearted support for Brexit from the rest of the Parliamentary Labour Party were made painfully clear during last year’s General Election defeat.

4 Theresa May came close to achieving her goal of winning over enough working-class voters to help her wipe out Labour’s traditional base Credit: EPA

What message does that send?

As hopeless as her campaign was, Mrs May came close to achieving her goal of winning over enough working-class voters to help her wipe out Labour’s traditional base. The Tories won in every social group except the very poorest.

They even led Labour by four percentage points among the skilled working class.

If Labour does fall into the trap of being seen as the party that wants to dilly-dally on Brexit, those voters who stuck with us last year after having voted Leave the year before will tell us exactly where to go next time — and it won’t be 10 Downing Street.

Word has it that the Labour leadership is careering towards the trap of wanting to keep the UK tied to the EU’s customs union.

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Likewise, the idea of holding another referendum on Brexit hasn’t been dismissed out of hand by the party leadership.

What sort of message does that send to Labour voters in the Midlands, Wales and the North of England who flirted with the Tories at the last election and could be tempted to back Tory candidates next time around?

Any more mucking about with Brexit and Labour’s chances of forming the next government will go up in smoke.