The Conservatives are stuck in a Brexit bedlam that they can’t seem to find a way out of

It’s all too easy for Tories to become grumpy pessimists, says former minister Damian Green. They’ve adapted to change before. They must do so again

If we are to move on from the current toxic politics, the Tories must lead the way, both in tone and content (PA)

The Parliamentary Conservative Party notoriously has two default settings: complacency or panic.

The pressure of the Brexit process has moved the dial significantly towards the latter, although one should never underestimate the capacity of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership skills to encourage Conservatives into the former.

For anyone who thinks long-term, though, the departure of colleagues with stinging remarks about destroying the Conservative Party should be worrying. Almost the worst thing about the early days of the Independent Group was that the Labour defectors were clearly distraught about leaving their political home, while the Tory defectors looked exultant.