There’s something on which a few of us have been keeping our mouths shut. And with reason, because the worst time to complain about the game is when you fear you may be about to lose, as some on the Remain side of the European debate did early in the campaign.

But we’ve sensed a change in the wind this week. I’ll tempt fate by saying I now think Britain is unlikely to leave the European Union. So with no risk of sounding like bad losers, let’s ask a wider question than the one voters will face on June 23.

Are referendums really the best way to settle this kind of thing?

There’s teasing irony here for the Leave campaigners. The referendum is a rather