On Monday Afternoon as many people across the country prepared to leave work a group of privileged people assembled to discuss a matter that impacts all of us and may lead to massive job losses and a major reduction in the well being of our whole nation. One of the people concerned is Huw Merriman who is the MP for Bexhill and Battle. He made a statement as part of his question that will be seen in years to come as one of the most honest statements made by a Conservative MP in the last two years.

HM: There are 650 different opinions on Brexit in the House…

If he had been willing to stop at that point it would have been fantastic. That said his statement whilst loaded with meaning is a tragic underestimation. According to this part of the Government website, in 2015 there were 2040 people working in the House of Commons so in fact the true statement should be that there are about 2690 different opinions on Brexit in the House. In any event what followed from Huw and his Party Leader went on to explain why we need a major refresh of the whole House of Commons.

HM: …but the only opinion…

This is where Huw began to dig a hole deeper than the Channel tunnel – it was a terrible comment.

HW: …..and the only office with any authority and a mandate to deliver for all our constituents, are those of the Prime Minister. Does she agree that it is time for all of us to get behind her position, and give all our constituents the best possible chance of prosperity and a future with our European neighbours?

It is clearly vital for the wellbeing of the Conservative Party that they are working together and pay attention to their leader. That said leading is not about being the most popular or powerful person whose opinion then counts more than anyone elses. In one sense that is how dictators or Presidents work, not Prime Ministers.  In reality whilst the opinion of Theresa May matters in her family and perhaps even in the Cabinet when they are holding internal discussions, the whole point of a Cabinet type of Government is that they bring together their opinions and between them form a shared point of view. That after all is what should have happened about 2 years ago, and what is now due to happen this weekend when they all have their sleepover in Chequers. However the answer on Monday whilst clearly Theresa Mays opinion is not a good indication of how the discussions at Chequers will go.

TM: I think that the overwhelming view of the British public is that they took a vote, they want the Government to deliver on it, and they want us to get on with delivering on it. That is exactly what we are doing.

I am not sure that if all 650 MPs were interviewed in isolation that there would be 650 opinions on Brexit, but certainly there would be a wide ranging array of views. By the same token I doubt if all 2700 people in the House of Commons would have entirely different opinions. However there would certainly be a lot more than one opinion. To then extrapolate this across the nation as a whole where 66,560,000 people live, bearing in mind that some are children and some may not be aware of what Brexit means, it is perhaps naïve to suggest that every member of the nation has a different point of view. What is crystal clear is that just as a substantial number voted to remain and another substantial number voted to leave and a significant number chose not to vote, that there are many of us who want the Government to outline what they, the Cabinet mean by Brexit and only then will we be able to form a view, but it is clear that at best only a minority will support that point of view. What will count is, is that minority large enough to carry the country out of the EU. If not, there will be a clear need for the Cabinet to go back to the drawing board and have another sleep over.