Brexit Day comes – and goes

It has not happened, of course. And some would argue that it never will.

No one can be certain, even in Westminster. Even today, the pendulum might shift again as the Prime Minister tries to get a stripped-down part of the divorce deal through at the third time of asking.

Guernsey, in the meantime, says it is ready for any eventuality, even an exit in two weeks’ time.

It is wise to be so, as even Sir Oliver Letwin, the MP who was PM for a day, says that no deal remains the most likely outcome.

In that light, the island’s confidence in turning down the Co-op’s offer to maintain extra food stocks just in case is reassuring.

It has the air of Keep Calm and Carry On: we have this covered.

One sticking point remains the extension to the Bailiwick of the UK’s membership of the World Trade Organisation, which may not be sorted by 12 April.

Again, the States is calming nerves. Deputies this week were told that failure to join the WTO in time is ‘unlikely to create any practical issues’.

The mood is notably less bullish in Jersey. There, not only has the Co-op offer been accepted, but Citizens Advice is asking well-off islanders to get their stockpiling of non-perishables in early.

The idea is that, in the event of a no-deal Brexit, there will be more on the shelves for the island’s lower-income families, who cannot afford to buy in advance.

Ideally, the islands will never know which approach is right and no-deal will be a dog that barks but never bites. However, with the UK Parliament in full-on constitutional crisis it would be foolish not to be on guard. Those weeks and months since June 2016 may have been used well in preparation but there are always unknowns.

Pray instead for MPs to come to some sort of conclusion so that businesses, European nationals and Britons everywhere with a stake in the outcome can move on with their lives.

For no one would want another 1,000 days of political posturing, dithering, resignations and division.