The Guardian view on who governs Britain: amid Brexit chaos, we ought to know

The political chaos in Britain is characterised by delusion. The prime minister’s blueprint for Britain to leave the European Union is apparently exactly as she wanted it, despite having been rewritten in the Commons by hard Brexiters. Emboldened aspirants to replace her – old Etonians Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees-Mogg – are outbidding each other to promise ever more “glorious visions” of Brexit to voters. Ten ministers have resigned over Theresa May’s plans. Apparently she had not noticed all this. She told MPs she had been busy fixing Nato with Donald Trump. If this was meant to be a joke, it was at her own expense.

With the country facing perhaps an unparalleled national crisis over Brexit, one might expect Labour could step up to the plate. Not a chance. Its MPs are too busy resigning the whip. Or facing deselection. Or their attention is being consumed by rows over antisemitism. Don’t look at the Liberal Democrats; their former leader missed a knife-edge Brexit vote this week to give a speech addressing the controversy over his beliefs on gay sex. Politics in Britain is staggering from crisis to crisis just as the great issue at the heart of British life, withdrawal from the European Union, is in flux. There are now well-founded fears Britain could crash out of the EU with no deal, an act of serious self-harm.

The bizarre nature of politics at the moment is that there is a majority in parliament for the least damaging Brexit, in which the country negotiates favourable access to the single market, but accepts it will no longer be part of the EU’s decision-making apparatus. Yet this majority is leaderless. Some suggest that this could be resolved by either a government of national unity or a second referendum. Although neither is very likely, both could offer ways out of the gridlock. The worry is that applying either of these to an existential question – what will be this nation’s relationship with its main political and economic partner? – might not inoculate the body politic against the virus of populism but infect it further. The Tory MP Anna Soubry thinks that her party is being profoundly reshaped by populist forces, going so far as to see a creeping rightwing coup taking place with Mr Rees-Mogg “running the country”. It is vain, and at this moment supremely foolish, to think that sense and order can be spread by a fanatical minority of a political party in power overthrowing its leadership because it is unable to convince the majority of its MPs. Such a minority would have to apply more and more force to maintain itself in power against the majority of opinion. The result is a progressive undermining of the norms and rules of engagement that undergird democracy. The empty apology offered by the Tory chair Brandon Lewis for voting despite being paired with the Lib Dem MP – and new mother – Jo Swinson is just the latest example.

Neither Mrs May nor Jeremy Corbyn can be blamed entirely. They both lead discordant teams and divided parliamentary parties and face rebellious activists. Since Mrs May’s majority disappeared last summer both she and Mr Corbyn have proved to have strong survival instincts. Both appear to exude calm in a storm. Unfortunately beneath the serenity both leaders’ minds are plainly divided over the next steps that need to be taken. It is heartening, if anything can said to be heartening about this mess, that both understand they cannot afford to be diverted by hard-Brexit extremists, despite flirting with their ideas. Yet both seem uncertain how to deal with the impending disaster. Without a surer touch, British politics and Britain could be irreparably damaged.