Government departments are now locked down in safe mode.

It’s like when your computer has a wobble and restarts with a white letters on a blue background, limited but basic and safe to use until you fix the bug. Departments no longer expect to put forward new legislation or policy suggestions, knowing that anything they ‘put up’ risks coming back mangled or toxic.

As with Alzheimer’s disease, the body continues to function and look like the person you once knew, but the simplest of interactions soon reminds you sadly of what was but is no more. So these days with collective government, sadly.

Like Suez, it will be taught in universities for the next 50 years.

How do we reconcile the political parties, the nations of the UK, and the integrity of the EU27?

I have written previously on the merits of associate membership of the EU, the Norway option, as reconciling the divided overall result of the 2016 referendum.

So, how do we take the sting out of the tail of a People’s Vote which might very well be just a little less borderline than two years ago?

One option is to go Norway for now, and a 3-way referendum in 10 to 20 years time agreed now with the EU27, allowing for re-entry, continued associate membership, or a bespoke leave.

Not the least of the attractions of this approach is that it allows the hardline older politicians to quietly and gracefully retire to their memoirs. Please!