How European does Britain want to be? And how far will a leader who arrived in No 10 pledging not to undo Brexit, but who plainly hankers for closer membership of the European family, go towards making the UK as like the EU as possible – while remaining outside it? 

The intricacy and political volatility of this question was one of the reasons why Labour has observed an omerta on the subject, beyond a lengthy attempt at “reconnection,” in areas like student exchanges and an ongoing quest to help food and agriculture businesses trade more cheaply. Nice to have, but hardly the magical growth recipe we were promised. 

Significantly, Starmer used his first new year BBC interview to suggest that he would back the great closening: “If it’s in our national interest to have even closer alignment with the single market, then we should consider that, we should go that far”. 

Brilliant, Labour’s un-quiet Remainers will have thought. But in Keir-world when something is announced, it is a long way from being a real thing. Realignment certainly is, when you take away the possibilities of rejoining a customs union. 

I spend quite a lot of time on the Eurostar to Brussels and Berlin, and talking to EU and member governments about how they would see mutually useful relations with Britain in an era when mutual trade and defence advantages are in all our interests. Not least when the US is missing in action in Europe or otherwise deployed taking over Venezuela. 

So, I do get the desire to find a recipe to

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