At the start of last year, Theresa May deployed a new phrase to define her tough approach to Brexit: that “no deal is better than a bad deal”. It was dropped into the middle of a speech without very much fanfare, so her aides drew attention to it afterwards in case anyone missed the new threat.

She wanted it to be known that, unlike David Cameron, she would play hardball with the European Union. His error had been to try to renegotiate the terms of Britain’s membership without saying he’d walk away if he didn’t get what he wanted. She would not be so naive.

How distant that all seems now. It has been almost two years since the referendum and Mrs May has proven unable to negotiate with her own Cabinet, let alone the EU. She’s not playing hardball. She’s in the dressing room, agonising over tactics while the other team awaits her. The longer she prevaricates, the weaker she appears and the less likely she is to secure a decent Brexit deal. As if preparing for her failure, her aides are now drawing up backup plans.