A second referendum is now firmly on the cards

Analysis: For a long time, talk of a second referendum was hushed but, as Joe Watts explains, with Brexit’s realities increasingly exposed things are starting to look very different

Those wanting a rethink on Brexit had not only found a voice, but were prepared to stand up for the cause en masse (AFP)

There was a politically confected honeymoon period for Brexit after the 2016 referendum – overnight our departure from Europe became a forgone conclusion; the remain alliance was shattered, its champions cowed.

Only the most ardent bulwarks, those like Ken Clarke who were less fussed about electoral prospects, were prepared to stand up and say the unsayable.

But more than two years later, with Brexit’s embarrassing realities regularly exposed and amid a concerted push from the regrouped voices of liberal Britain, things look very different.