Look, I swore to keep my fingers away from the ‘B’ on the laptop keyboard. Then Sir John Redwood slipped into the BBC Today programme with his supercilious drawl.

This is the prominent Brexiteer who was knighted by Theresa May (remember her, it’s been a while?) for his “political and public service”.

Redwood drawled out the one-size-fits-all-interviews answer: “It’s the will of the British people.”

While this is technically true, those words have been hung, drawn and quartered so many times, it’s a wonder there’s any life left in them at all.

A truer version of that dry incantation would be: “It was the will of just about enough of the British people on one day in June three years ago.”

You may recall that Nigel Farage, fearing the Remain vote would win, said that a 52/48 split wouldn’t be enough to confirm the result. When that slim margin was in his favour, he shoved those hasty words under a beer-sodden carpet somewhere.

You may recall that the referendum was technically an advisory vote to test the water.

You may recall that the whole thing was hastily cobbled together by David Cameron (remember him, it’s been an even longer while?) to see off Farage.

You may recall that no plan was made for losing because Cameron was certain he would win.

You may recall many still-running allegations about dodgy money from Arron Banks pouring into the Leave coffers.

Oh, you may recall many things or may wish to bang your head against the wall instead; either reaction is understandable.

Sadly, the Remain side has always been divided and weak. And now Boris Johnson, having picked the lock to Number 10, has gathered together a not-so-merry band of hard-right cronies, promising that we are hurtling towards a no-deal Brexit.

Politicians from all sides urge against this calamity, but now it’s become a badge of honour among the Redwood brigade, a politically macho act, rather than a dangerous and foolish one.

One hope lies in Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s offer of creating a time-limited national government to extend our departure date, allowing for a general election with Labour campaigning for a public vote on the terms of leaving.

This is a good idea and an unusually smart move from Corbyn, even if he seems to have trouble leading his own party, never mind a government of national unity.

A couple of weeks ago, the Labour grandee turned author Alan Johnson said in a Q&A in the Observer: “The simple problem we’ve got is that Jeremy Corbyn is not a leader. He’s never going to be a leader, never wanted to be a leader, is totally uncomfortable in the role as leader. And on Europe he’s a total disaster.”

There was more. “Jeremy is not just pious and sanctimonious, he’s useless at leading, which is why he has people around him who do his shoelaces up…”

Now these remarks will be dismissed by Corbyn fans, who are never happier than when laying into a discredited member of their own clan. But they rang a true note.

Anyway, whatever happens, it can’t have been the will of the people to spend three exhausting years with everyone being nasty towards each other. Perhaps the true will of the British people is to live in a parliamentary democracy where matters of importance are debated by those we elect. Rather than holding hasty referendums without a thought to what might happen.

This blog was amended after being published to remove a nickname incorrectly applied to Sir John Redwood