A win is a win, a Tory minister said on Wednesday, and while Theresa May lost the support of more than 100 MPs in the confidence vote, the Prime Minister and her allies insist she lives to fight another day. It is true that the votes cast against the PM mean the deal she negotiated with the EU is as dead as a dodo. Few of the MPs who voted against her are likely to vote for her deal now, and neither are the opposition parties.

The votes against her also mean Theresa May’s future is decided. As she hinted on Wednesday, her short and troubled premiership is likely to end some time next year.

Despite turning a significant portion of the Tory Parliamentary party, the Hard Brexiteers who engineered the confidence vote failed. They failed to win enough votes to force the Prime Minister out and proved they are way short of a Commons majority to force a no-deal Brexit.

The vote was an act of desperation. This might seem odd, as Brexit’s default outcome – what happens if nobody in Parliament can decide otherwise – suits the Hard Brexiteers.

Legally speaking, Britain leaves the EU on March 29. And if a new relationship with Europe is not agreed and ratified by that date, we will leave with no transition period and trading on World Trade Organisation terms.