“Democracy is the worst form of government,” Winston Churchill once said, “except for all the others.” As the Brexit debate descended into farce yesterday, with MPs preferring to engage in a shouting match over who said what to whom rather than concentrate on resolving the biggest challenge facing the country since the end of the Second World War, it was easy to wonder about our system of government.
But now the pantomime is over, MPs need to return to Brexit, which lies a frighteningly close 99 days away. Compromising on a practical way forward will call for cool heads and a completely different approach to leadership. Last week, Tony Blair took to the airwaves to call for a second EU referendum, otherwise dubbed “the People’s Vote”. Predictably, he was roundly criticised.
