Standing at the dispatch box, begging Members of Parliament for the second time to vote for her Brexit deal, Theresa May’s voice had all but deserted her. Shortly afterwards, as MPs were asked to enter different lobbies depending on whether they accepted or rejected her deal, a good chunk of her own political party did the latter. The slogan of one of the Leave campaigns was “Take Back Control,” yet instead the United Kingdom has descended into an apocalyptic morass under the helm of the Conservatives.

The following morning, journalists were summoned to a meeting so early they were warned at 5 AM that there would be no coffee facilities, so they should bring their own. By 7 AM, the government had released a document detailing plans for the Irish border in the event the UK crashes out of the European Union without a deal.

Previously, hard Brexiters in government had argued that a technological solution would be found to prevent a hard border, albeit one that had not yet been invented or used on any border anywhere on earth. Now, they had a new and much easier idea: simply don’t bother collecting tariffs on goods coming from the south of Ireland to the north.