Je ne regrette rien

Mr Corbyn has principles and holds to them. Why then does he claim to be for a soft Brexit but tacitly support the jump-off-the-cliff option. For example, in June Mr Umunna, a Labour MP, tried prodding the Conservatives into giving some guarantees over Brexit. His proposed motion of 'regret' said:

[We] respectfully regret that the Gracious Speech does not rule out withdrawal from the EU without a deal, guarantee a Parliamentary vote on any final outcome to negotiations, set out transitional arrangements to maintain jobs, trade and certainty for business, set out proposals to remain within the Customs Union and Single Market, set out clear measures to respect the competencies of the devolved administrations, and include clear protections for EU nationals living in the UK now, including retaining their right to remain in the UK, and reciprocal rights for UK citizens.

Mr Corbyn instructed Labour MPs to abstain from voting on this. He even sacked members of his cabinet who defied him to vote in support of Mr Umunna's motion.

Mr Umunna was only asking for our own government to tell its own citizens what it is planning to do, in the most important economic u-turn we have made in decades.

Not a single Conservative MP supported the motion. Altogether, out of 423 votes, there were only 101 votes for it. Yet the motion was simply stating that in a democracy the people and their representatives should be told what the government is doing and have control over it.

Mrs May's control-freakery won't let her agree to this, and Mr Corbyn's wish for a break with the EU means he is willing to stand by and watch.

Of course, there is the possibility that he will be PM soon. Given his political background and the changes he intends for the British system, he would certainly welcome a culture of more centralisation of power and less interference in politically-driven programmes.