Brexit will only work for Britain if the EU breaks apart - and that would be a disaster for all

Scorned as Britain’s worst leader since Neville Chamberlain misread power in Europe, Theresa May clings to the illusion of authority represented by her occupancy of Number 10 Downing Street and the trappings that go with it.

Sadly, May, her colleagues and their powerful newspaper backers are suffering from delusions that are likely to see Britain crashing out of the European Union while left with a moth-eaten industry, a devastated financial system and a government deeply in hock.

The prime minister survives with the help of subterfuge, but only to fight another vicious day. Hard-core issues are still awaiting resolution, including Britain’s trade and customs relationships with the EU after Brexit, and vexed questions about the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, which stays in the EU.

May faces contradictory problems that would challenge even an astute politician. Her cabinet is deeply divided between hardline Brexiters and those who originally voted against leaving and seek a soft exit and a good trading relationship outside the EU club.

Last week marked the second anniversary of the referendum under which the people of the UK voted narrowly against the EU on a simple question of whether to stay or to leave, 52 per cent to 48 per cent.