The critical question for MPs now is what would they hate most – a no-deal Brexit or a Corbyn government?

The $64,000 question is not only one for Tories who believe no deal would be an act of economic self-harm, but also for opposition MPs

“What would you hate most – a Corbyn government or a no-deal Brexit?”

That, I’m told, is how Downing Street is already framing the crucial question for Conservative MPs. Government whips will ram home the same message when the Commons returns from its summer break in two weeks. The answer will probably decide what happens on Brexit.

The $64,000 question is not only one for Tories who believe no deal would be an act of economic self-harm, but also for opposition MPs. Jeremy Corbyn inadvertently posed the question by urging them to support him as head of a “strictly time-limited” caretaker government if no deal opponents pass a vote of no confidence in Boris Johnson.