Britain must leave the European Union. That was the clear instruction of the electorate, issued at the referendum in June.

Parliament must vote on the numerous questions that arise from our leaving. That is how British democracy works.

Neither of those statements should be controversial and the fact that there is a building political row about them says a great deal about the depressing and divisive nature of Britain’s post-referendum conversation about Europe.

For a small group of Remainers, leaving is not inevitable. Often questioning the intelligence or education of Leave voters, they dream, often secretly, of finding ways to block Brexit, or perhaps just delay it for so long that the question can be revisited and overturned. Such disregard for the electorate is lamentable.