The draft agreement fails the Lancaster House tests set by Mrs May. It has no chance in the Commons

The silence in Brussels is revealing. If the draft Withdrawal Agreement had included wins for Britain, and compromises by the Europeans, the Commission would have been spinning furiously. It knows it has won hands down, so it feels no need to reassure its own audiences.

Of course, British compromises were inevitable. But the proposal presented to Cabinet is a capitulation. Worse, it is a capitulation not only to Brussels, but to the fears of the British negotiators themselves, who have shown by their actions that they never believed Brexit can be a success.

This includes, I say with the heaviest of hearts, the Prime Minister. If you believe people voted for Brexit to control immigration, and you fear it brings only economic downsides, you might consider the draft agreement the least bad outcome for Britain. If you believe Brexit can restore surrendered sovereignty, reform our economy and change the country, you will find it a horror show.

Of course, if you never accepted Brexit, you will insist we should remain within the European Union after all. Before the referendum, these politicians insisted we could not leave because we would have to abide by rules over which we had no say. Then, when Theresa May set out her original, now abandoned, Brexit strategy, they rebelled and said we must align with EU laws.