When the ancient Chinese created the curse, “may you live in interesting times”, they knew exactly what they were talking about.

It has possibly never been more apt than during this past week in British politics.

Decades from now, academics will probably dissect every decision, every statement, every nuance of how the fault line in the Conservative Party split apart and threatened to engulf us all.

Politicians like Tory peer Michael Heseltine are backing a Peoples Vote on Brexit (Picture: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP/Getty Images)

When I got on my flight for London at 11am last Monday, I was going down to speak in what was supposed to be the defining debate on our future relationship with the EU.

By the time I landed both it, and the vote on the deal, had been “postponed”. What followed instead has been chaos.

Unprecedented is an overused word, but at the moment it is the only one that we have which even begins to explain the magnitude of the screw-up this Conservative Government has perpetrated.

They are not alone of course. The Labour Party is equally chaotic and divided, while the SNP is intent on squeezing every smidgen of advantage possible out of this for their never-ending independence crusade, regardless of the bigger picture or implications for us all.

Individually there are politicians in each of those parties, and my own, who are putting the national interest first and looking for a solution.

But, taken in the round, the impression this debacle is creating not just in the world’s media, but among the electorate to whom we are answerable, is incredibly damaging.

For me, it’s time to think about doing things differently before we run out of time and crash out of the EU, without a deal, and into economic disaster. We need to find consensus. Common ground.

In reality, it is there already. Every day, politicians from each party talk to each other about how we get out of this mess. How we fix it. Be in no doubt, most of us know it needs fixed. And quickly.

Increasingly, Labour, SNP and even some Conservatives are coming around to the Liberal Democrat view that we need to give this back to the people for the final say. A People’s Vote on the deal.

But first, there is an enormous roadblock to get past. We need to find a proposal that Parliament can agree and give the people an option to vote on. And, for me, that must include the word ‘remain’.

The only deal we’ve had so far won’t cut it. It has many flaws, but chief among them is the backstop.

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This year marked the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. For two decades, the violence which shook so many families during the Troubles has largely been kept at bay.

The efforts made in the peace process by all communities should be applauded, not undermined. But that is exactly what the ham-fisted, chaotic tactics of this Government threaten to do.

I am happy to accept that was not their intention. But sadly it may be the impact.

The Prime Minister’s “cake and eat it” style of Brexit negotiation was always going to lead us up this particular proverbial creek without a paddle. On the one hand, the Government committed itself to avoiding a hard border, yet, on the other, they were adamant on departing from both the customs union and the single market.

And so we are left with the bizarre half-in/half-out arrangement known as the backstop, which would mean Northern Ireland staying in the customs union for an indefinite period of time if an appropriate customs agreement cannot be agreed with Brussels by the end of the transition period in 2020.

And, as it was revealed once the Government was forced to publish legal advice put together by the Attorney General, this arrangement could last indefinitely.

Unsurprisingly, Unionists in Northern Ireland don’t like it. The people of Northern Ireland, like those in Scotland and London, voted overwhelmingly to remain.

And they and the rest of the UK did not vote for separating off Northern Ireland while the rest of the country is torn from the single market and customs union.

The reality is that there is currently no version of Brexit that will work for Northern Ireland, or for the rest of us for that matter.

The most optimistic of Theresa May’s supporters did see a glimmer of hope in the European Council this weekend, with reassurances from the other countries that, of course, they would look for a quick solution. But that was quickly extinguished.

Instead we are left with an unfinished debate on withdrawal, a deal on which parliament has not voted and will not approve, the potential of a no-confidence vote this week and just three months to find and implement a decision.

The time is long past when there was room to indulge the no-deal fantasies of the European Research Group. It’s also too late for the determined Brexiteers in the Tory party to find another deal, or another leader.

It’s time to admit they got it wrong. They led the people up the garden path with the promise of a smooth, easy, economically booming Brexit which simply doesn’t exist.

Do I want to stay in the EU? Yes. But more importantly I want us all to have the choice, now that we know what Brexit really means. Today I’ll get on another flight at Edinburgh Airport and head back to Westminster for another week of, well, who can really be sure?

The Labour Party might finally table that vote of confidence. This weekend’s gossip and speculation might mean we have even more chaos. Or maybe, just maybe, the more sensible voices will prevail, and we will find a way to reach the consensus that the country needs. Interesting times.

Brexit: There's only one way out of this screw-up '“ Christine Jardine