Let us, just for the moment—I promise not to strain your credulity for too long—assume that the remaining members of the cabinet are serious about the Chequers plan for Brexit. If they are, then they, and Theresa May in particular, face challenges in the next few weeks that are far tougher than finding replacements for David Davis and Boris Johnson.

The reason is that there remains a huge gulf—indeed, a range of huge gulfs—between the government’s new position and the European Union’s. Negotiations on a range of politically fraught and technically complex issues lie ahead. Here are some.

– If the UK is to have preferential access to EU markets, the EU will demand annual payments. Norway and Switzerland pay billions of euros a year; the UK cannot expect access for free.

– The Chequers agreement leaves vague the role of the European Court of Justice. Any deal will have to clarify this. Clarification is likely to lead to greater ECJ jurisdiction over UK trade and regulations than the government has so far acknowledged.

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