Why can’t the Tories see that a Canada-style Brexit deal is the answer?

Loyalty, it used to be said, was the Tories’ secret weapon. No longer. Self-discipline has been discarded — along with commitments to lowering taxes, being strong on defence and keeping the streets safe. The Conservatives appear to have abandoned all of their beliefs and transformed into the party of Brexit. But, it seems, they can’t even get that right.

Brexit is one of the most important projects any government has undertaken in our postwar history — a task that has been entrusted to Conservative MPs, most of whom voted against Brexit. The Prime Minister and her Chancellor, her Foreign Secretary and her Home Secretary all argued during the referendum campaign that leaving the EU would be a disaster. Now in charge of things, they are dangerously close to vindication, mainly because the party is indulging in a bout of in-fighting when attention ought to be focused on the task in hand.