The sorrowful mystery of Brexit

A deal? No deal? A general election in Britain? Another referendum? An extension of Article 50? Defenestration for Theresa May? Two and a half years since the Leave vote won the day, nobody knows what twists the next chapter of the Brexit tale holds

An anti-Brexit demonstrator outside the British Parliament in Westminster: while opinion polls suggest a shift to Remain over the past two years, the margins are still tight Picture: Bloomberg

Brexit has become so tortuous that some in British politics have turned to Sherlock Holmes in an attempt to unravel its mysteries. “When you have eliminated the impossible,” Arthur Conan Doyle’s most celebrated creation famously quipped, “whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth”.

Britain enters the new year faced with a selection of apparent political impossibilities: Theresa May winning sufficient support for her withdrawal agreement deal; a second referendum on leaving the ...