Norway or a second referendum is no choice at all

If Theresa May loses the Brexit vote next Tuesday, she might be forced from office sooner than Downing Street thinks. Labour will threaten a confidence vote, hoping for an election. The DUP – furious about Northern Ireland’s status in the Withdrawal Agreement – could demand the PM’s head before offering the Tories their support. The only thing that might save her is if Labour, wary of uniting the Tories against them, dither before acting.

That is for next week, however. This week was momentous, because it was the week that Brexit was finally killed. Will Britain take control of its laws, borders and its money? To quote Margaret Thatcher with more melancholy than defiance: no, no, no.

Tuesday’s vote to hold the Government in contempt of Parliament was significant. The Attorney General’s legal advice confirms that the Withdrawal Agreement’s backstop is a trap from which we cannot escape and which cuts off Northern Ireland from the rest of the country.

But more important still was Dominic Grieve’s amendment. This means, come January, if the Withdrawal Agreement is not ratified, the Commons will take control of Brexit. And a majority in Parliament, of course, which voted for the referendum, to accept its result, and invoke Article 50, hates Brexit more than anything.