MPs remain aware that a Corbyn government would be different from your typical Labour government; that even if it only lasted for one term it would leave an indelible mark on the country. For this reason, there is a reluctance to bring the house down.

In the 1990s, many Tories felt that the party was tired and would benefit from a spell in opposition. After 18 years in government that had transformed the country, touching nearly every aspect of national life, the party was out of ideas. At the same time, the New Labour leadership was a backhanded tribute to the Tories, a recognition that the changes they had made were now settled policy. But today’s Tory party has only been in power for eight years, and five ofthose were spent in coalition. The majority of the Tory party has been elected in the last nine years, and this group has yet to produce a prime minister. And no one can see Jeremy Corbyn as any kind of tribute to the Tories. Indeed, he would threaten the Thatcher settlement Tony Blair accepted.

Sometimes good prime ministers are bad party leaders. May has failed in both roles. Her missteps in the negotiations have left the UK having to choose between a set of unpalatable Brexit options, while as Tory leader she called a needless election in which she lost her majority. But perhaps her most serious offence is that she has exacerbated divisions over Europe, both in her party and the country, and ensured that they will carry