Give and Take

I overestimated the number of Brexiteers on the Conservative benches. I suggested that they might approach the two dozen or so Conservatives who opposed Maastricht, and include some of the same individuals.

But it turns out that there is precisely one, Philip Davies, who did not enter Parliament until 2005, since, almost unbelievably, he is only five years older than I am. The likes of Iain Duncan Smith queued up to agree with Ken Clarke and Anna Soubry.

There are half a dozen times that many Brexiteers on the Labour benches, just as there were three times as many anti-Maastricht Labour MPs as anti-Maastricht Conservatives. In any case, all Labour MPs will vote against "Canada Plus Plus Plus".

By contrast, even the DUP is now signed up to a deal that is even worse than staying in the Single Market and the Customs Union would have been. But then, had the old man been dead a couple more years, then the DUP would have campaigned for Remain.

The entire Tory and Murdoch press has also rallied behind the white flag of Theresa May and David Davis. With The Guardian about to axe Giles Fraser's column, Leavers are left with only the Morning Star. And The Word, of course. This could be the making of that. I very much hope that large numbers of Leavers will become regular readers of both.

They might then realise that the election of a Corbyn Government was the only way to keep the economic and foreign policy debates open, whether or not you agreed with Corbyn in any way on economic policy, in particular. Unless you want a return to "the centre ground" of the 20 years BC, Before Corbyn, then you must vote Labour at the next General Election, no matter what.