Do these preening egotists know what’s at stake for Britain?

In six days’ time, our political class will decide whether to deliver the Brexit demanded by the people – or to plunge this country into a downward spiral of strife and uncertainty.

The importance of this moment cannot be overstated. Britain is already in the throes of a constitutional crisis.

If Parliament is incapable of agreeing terms for an orderly Brexit, that crisis could quickly become a catastrophe – blighting real lives and destroying real jobs.

The omens are dark indeed. At a time when the nation is crying out for leadership, all we seem to have are political pygmies.

These preening egotists all know what they are against. But not one of them has come up with a viable alternative to Theresa May’s Brexit deal.

Indeed many seem to be treating the most dangerous political impasse since the Second World War as if it were some parlour game.

Boris Johnson with his Woosterish buffoonery, Jacob Rees-Mogg’s absurd Brexit purism, Dominic Grieve’s priggish refusal to honour the referendum result, Jeremy Corbyn’s risible policy of ‘constructive ambiguity’ – another term for complete lack of ideas or initiative.

Even the Cabinet seems to think the economic precipice we are stumbling towards is somehow amusing.

Having been given the timetable for this profoundly serious debate and vote yesterday, ministers descended into a puerile, name-calling bunfight – making hilarious jokes about unicorns, ‘50-yearold swingers’ and James Bond actors.

And as soon as the meeting was over, they leaked details of their high-jinks to show how clever and funny they are.

Meanwhile, ordinary hard-working families – who just want a resolution – look on in despair.

They say we get the politicians we deserve. If that’s true, the voters must have done some terrible things in a previous life to deserve this shower.

It truly does sometimes seem as if Mrs May is the only grown-up in the House.

For more than two years she has battled to deliver Brexit and the Mail has supported her all the way.

She has suffered sneering insults from Brussels, treachery from her own side and a cynical campaign of sabotage from all the opposition parties. But the public knows her quality and respects her for it.

Sadly, the chances of her deal being voted through on Tuesday look remote. Indeed the indications are that it will fall by a large majority. If it does, we are – in Mrs May’s words – entering uncharted territory. Some MPs favour a norway-style deal – which would concede free movement, allow the primacy of European law and involve massive payments to Brussels with negligible influence over trade policy. Is that the Brexit 17.4million voted for? (Similarly, the option of staying for ever in a customs union leaves us tied to the EU’s apron strings with no sovereign power.)

For others – mainly those who treat Brexit as a bad dream – it’s a second referendum. But this would merely confirm how divided the country is and offer succour to an SnP desperate for a re-run of the settled independence issue.

What would be the legitimacy of a socalled ‘People’s Vote’, when we’ve already had one? What about the corrosive effect on our democracy? How many options should be on the paper? What would they be?

Some favour an extension of the Article 50 period, but to what end? The chances are that Parliament would be just as divided in another year as it is today.

Then of course there are the no-dealers, who want to crash out on WTO rules, with all the disruption and misery that would inflict on a despairing nation. Are they really prepared to throw Britain’s future prosperity into the hazard in such a cavalier way? So is there any chance for Mrs May’s deal? The arithmetic certainly looks bleak and if it is to succeed in any form, there must be a radical change of attitude from the Brussels negotiators. They have been singularly intransigent so far but there are signs that individual member states are beginning to have anxiety attacks about the looming prospect of no-deal.

Until just a few weeks ago, Irish premier Leo Varadkar was adamant that the withdrawal agreement could not be altered to give greater clarity over the issue of the northern Ireland backstop.

Yesterday, however, he struck a conspicuously more amicable tone, saying the EU would be ‘happy’ to offer Britain ‘written guarantees, explanations and assurances’ on the backstop.

Could it be the enormity of the catastrophe that would befall his country’s economy in the event of no-deal is finally beginning to dawn on him?

He is not alone in his fears. In France, Denmark and Holland – all major exporters of food to the UK – the jitters are also growing.

A hit of this scale – not to mention losing our £39billion divorce payment – would be bad enough at any time. But with the eurozone already deep in crisis, and even Germany staring down the barrel of recession, it could be truly devastating.

So now MPs must decide how to cast their vote in the most important division of their lifetime.

But before they do, Tory MPs in particular must put aside ambition and petty grudges and ask themselves where the national interest lies.

And before voting against their leader’s proposal, they must be sure they have an alternative plan which would not plunge Britain further into crisis.

Despite behaving like a gang of overgrown schoolchildren for so long, their party remains six points ahead of Labour – a huge tribute to the affection felt in the country for Theresa May.

She is streets ahead of Jeremy Corbyn in every poll and support for her deal is rising by the day. Just imagine what the Conservative lead would be if her Parliamentary colleagues could grow up and show some unity – and some loyalty.

Achieving an orderly Brexit could guarantee a Tory landslide at the next election. Conversely, those who conspire to capsize Mrs May’s deal must realise they risk ripping the party asunder and consigning it to the political wilderness for a generation.

When they walk into that division lobby on Tuesday, Tory MPs must search their consciences and consider very seriously whether that is what they want. The time for game-playing is over.