I DON’T really have any option in this Politically Speaking column but to write about Brexit. I know you’re sick of it, and I can well understand why. But think about how I feel about it! The issue dominates my life, and it’s what almost every conversation I have drifts into. Everyone has questions, some of which I cannot answer. Everyone has an opinion, covering the entire range from dedicated ‘Remainer’ to rampant ‘Leaver’. So Brexit it has to be.

But a column about Brexit at present is problematic for several reasons. Firstly because as the situation changes by the day, sometimes by the hour, it could well leave my words irrelevant by the time you’ve read them. And secondly that no matter what I write as my opinion, at least half of the County Times readership will disagree! So my sole aim is to give readers some idea of what is actually happening.

I begin with a recap on the relevant background. A majority of UK voters decided in the June 23, 2016 EU Referendum, that they wanted to leave the European Union – 17.4 million of them. An overwhelming majority of MPs voted in favour of invoking Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty in March 2017, which set the leaving date of 29 March 2019 in law. And in June 2017, an overwhelming majority of current MPs stood for election on manifestos promising to respect the result of the EU Referendum. So far so straightforward.

Then the fog came down. Negotiations on the terms of leaving have been protracted and difficult. After months of wrangling, Prime Minister and the EU negotiators agreed a comprehensive Withdrawal Agreement. I thought it was an acceptable deal, but it was heavily defeated in the House of Commons by a combination of MPs who didn’t accept the EU Referendum result and MPs who preferred to leave with No Deal at all. I must admit I was despairing and astonished in equal measure. What on earth did they think they were doing! The Prime Minister was sent back to the EU for a better deal.

I write this column, knowing what the next steps are. The Prime Minister has just told me. On March 12, MPs will vote again on the Withdrawal Agreement, amended to take account of the concerns expressed by MPs last time we voted on it. If it is voted down again we will vote again the next day, March 13 on whether MPs favour voting without any agreement. No-one expects that to pass. If it fails, there will be another vote on the 14th, about extending the Leave date from March 29 to perhaps May. If it was extended to June, it would be after the EU elections, and the UK would have to put up a full slate of candidates. There are a few uncertainties in this but I think its how it will work out.

It seems so straightforward and obvious to me. We should vote for the Withdrawal Agreement on March 12. I cannot follow the thinking of any of my colleagues who don’t join me in the voting lobby that night. I am desperate to leave with a deal. So is the Prime Minister. I cannot grasp the logic of anyone who reckons they want to respect the Referendum result can do anything else. I implore my colleagues and any MP who cares about the British constitution to join me on March 12 and vote for the Withdrawal Agreement and move on. The question is “Will they”?