The UK government’s proposed legislation on its planned exit from the EU contains an extraordinary statement: “Whilst Parliament has remained sovereign throughout our membership of the EU, it has not always felt like that.” The government is correct, as I argued during the referendum campaign: the UK parliament has always been sovereign, as is being proved by its ability to trigger Brexit. What sane country would sever its ties to its most important trading partners and its strategic position in its continent’s councils over a feeling that its own government agrees is erroneous?

Yet this is what the government seeks. Rightly, it wants an amicable divorce: “We want to continue to trade with the EU as freely as possible, to co-operate to keep our countries safe, to promote the values the UK and EU share — respect for human rights and dignity, democracy and the rule of law both within Europe and across the wider world, to support a strong European voice on the world stage, and to continue to encourage travel between the UK and EU.” Yet, driven by its desire to control immigration and free itself from the European Court of Justice, both presumed to reflect the “will of the people”, the government plans to leave the single market and the customs union.

So is it likely to be able to reach a deal? Furthermore, what might be the result? In trying to reach any deal, the UK has to cope with five daunting challenges.