Over 60 years ago Macmillan commissioned a ‘cake and eat it’ plan for Britain to integrate itself into the rapidly growing Western European economy. “The possibility of UK cooperation would be so welcome [to Europeans] we should be able to enter more or less on our own terms.”

… The plan failed because “UK policymakers had been focused on achieving a domestic consensus. They had produced a blueprint that was indeed a very good deal for Britain – but in doing so they had paid insufficient attention to other countries’ interests.” Sounds familiar?