For the past half year (if not longer), Prime Minister Theresa May has, everytime she appeared at the Despatch Box to talk about Brexit (often postponing votes and talking platitudes), told the broad mass of MP’s anxious about getting a No Deal Brexit cliff-jump: “The best way of avoiding a No Deal situation is voting for the deal I’m putting on the table; there is no alternative”.

For the past weeks, she’s been forced by her own party to see if, in the case of the Backstop (which became necessary because of May’s own “red lines”), there could be a slight variation approaching an alternative; but the EU, protecting its Internal Market, has been unwilling to make that variation too substantial. Result: delay after delay for the “Meaningful vote” which May did not want either, but was forced on her, a solid democrat, also.

“Avoid No Deal by agreeing to my deal” is kindergarten logic everybody can understand.

But now, in an upcoming BBC documentary, her blundering chief of staff from May’s first year and election campaign in Downing Street, Nick Timothy, a conviction Brexiteer, has got his own back by accusing Mrs May, a well-known Remainer trying to implement Brexit, that she always continued to see Brexit as damaging, harmful (a typical Remainer view, backed up by 90% of all economic, financial and banking experts and institutions), and accused May of thus handling Brexit implementation obsessively as a “damage control” exercise. Timothy says that blinded her from “obvious chances and advantages” Brexit should bring.

The BBC Newsnight and Guardian items of Friday March 1 about the concept-Trade Deal from Trump for the UK factually contradicts Timothy’s rosy eyed unicorn prediction of glorious possibilities for a UK liberated from all EU interference. The “special US-UK relationship” that would bring about many of those possibilities was made manifest by May lovingly holding Trumps hand in the White House, instead of openly resisting his easy policy assumptions like Dutch PM Mark Rutte did. The Trumpian MAGA concept-deal, making the UK a trade-, economic vassal, confirms Remainers and experts’ suspicion of structural, many-sided, serious harm coming the UK’s way in case of any type of Brexit.

Why doesn’t May apply her easy to understand “if you fear No Deal, make any deal” logic to the serious harm threatening the UK from a Brexit she always saw as “damaging”? It is the primary, main, unconditional duty of any prime minister to, if anyway possible, avoid structural harm to trading nation Britain’s interest. And to resist, call off continuing Poll Tax-like, idiosyncratic policies that will disrupt necessary logistic, medicinal and feeding mechanisms and procedures in British society.

So if she sees Brexit as harmful, and preventing avoidable serious harm as her primary, prime ministerial duty, why doesn’t she call the whole Brexit thing off?

If she wants a democratic way of calling it off, take up the LibDem and TIG offer: a Second Referendum.

* Dr. Bernard Aris is a historian, a D66 parliamentary researcher and a LibDem supporting member.