After the referendum, the reckoning. When Britain voted to leave the EU it said nothing about what sort of future relationship it wanted with its European partners. Dangerous confusion has rushed into the vacuum. Sterling has fallen steeply, the Treasury has torn up its budget projections and the Conservative party is convulsed by a leadership contest. Scotland is flirting again with independence and a civil war in the Labour party has deprived the country of an effective opposition.

Britain has already been sidelined in Brussels. Understandably, the first priority of the other 27 EU nations is to preserve the integrity of the union and avoid further fragmentation. As Whitehall contemplates the huge task of negotiating dozens of bilateral trade deals, leaders in capitals across the world are wondering whether departure from the EU marks a general retreat from international influence.

Britain needs a plan. Work on a detailed blueprint will have to await the conclusion of the Tory leadership contest and installation of a new prime minister in September. But it is not too early to set out guiding principles for negotiations with the rest of the EU. Britain should have a national debate before it begins such talks.