For most of 2019, politics in Britain has been consumed by the Brexit crisis. The drama of May’s defeats was followed by the rise of Boris Johnson, this gave way to the controversy over prorogation and increasingly panicked predictions about no-deal. No sooner had these coordinates been established than a deal was agreed with the European Union — which both won and lost key votes before being delayed in turn.

Brexit has become a slalom of parliamentary intrigue. And it is not surprising that a Corbyn-led Labour Party, premised on a grassroots revolt against the political establishment, should find itself lost amid its twists and turns.

For much of the liberal commentariat Brexit itself is the crisis, their much-revered political system wilting under the pressure. Even as some may enjoy the breathlessness of the drama — the latest act of heroic statesmanship from some Tory rebel, perhaps — columns are filled with furious rage at the latest transgression against respectable norms.