So there is more than one Old Etonian hoping to ride to the nation’s rescue. My first reaction to the news that Justin Welby is involved in plans for a citizens’ assembly to find an alternative to a no-deal Brexit was sceptical. Too late for such an initiative. Give Boris a chance to get on with it. Nice idea that the established Church can help us to get beyond political tribalism, but surely doomed to failure. The coming scrap between remainers and the Government is not a place for nice clergymen.
Then I remembered: I had the same sort of reaction to the news, over two years ago, that Welby was calling for a cross-party commission to find a way forward. That seemed naïve. Of course Brexit can only be pursued by the normal political means, I felt, despite the risk of tribal positions ousting sensible consensus.
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