By 1931 Winston Churchill had fought more election battles than any other member of the British Parliament. He ruefully calculated that “one day in 30” of his adult life had been consumed by “arduous and worrying” campaigning.

Churchill’s famous conclusion was that democracy constituted the “worst form of government — except for all those other forms that have been tried.” He was not succumbing to pessimism; on the contrary, faced with an array of unappetizing options, there is a deep wisdom in choosing the one with the smallest downside and then fixing its limitations.

So it is with the Iran nuclear agreement that President Trump is now reviewing, with May 12 — this Saturday — looming as the next deadline for him to pull out of the deal. Of all the options we have for ensuring that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon, this pact offers the fewest disadvantages.

It has weaknesses, certainly, but I am convinced they can be remedied. Indeed at this moment Britain is working alongside the Trump administration and our French and German allies to ensure that they are.