Who can salvage the CBI’s reputation after Brexit?

The most vocal opponents of our decision to leave the European Union have been the City and big business. For the last three years, from the CBI to the Bank of England to the FT and countless FTSE chairmen and trade groups, there have been hysterical warnings about the consequences of leaving. As Project Fear steamed forward, they were in the ship’s engine room throwing coal into the furnaces.

That was a big bet on the decision being reversed. If leaving could be made difficult enough and if the voters could be cowed into submission, there was a chance of a second referendum overturning the result.

And yet, in the wake of the general election, it is clear that gamble has been lost. Whatever else happens, we are leaving in six weeks’ time. That poses a delicate, tricky dilemma and one which even the spin-meisters behind the People’s Vote campaign might struggle with.