SO Mrs May has done it – not by achieving a satisfactory solution to the Brexit conundrum, but simply surviving the parliamentary year. Despite rumours of plots, coups and counter-coups she is still there, grimly holding on to the leadership of the Conservative Party and Number 10.

But after the MPs have come back from their summer hols what then?

Despite the problems of climate change (noticed the weather recently?), the madness of Trump, the trains (yes, always the trains) there is only one issue facing Mrs May – you’ve guessed it, pesky Brexit.

We’re now only eight months away from the fateful date when we are supposed to exit the EU and so unready are we that today’s headline is that the Government has started to stockpile food and medicines.

Let’s get one thing clear – just walking away and trading with the rest of the world on World Trade Organisation terms is only regarded as a serious option by those whose hatred (that’s the only word that comes to mind) of Europe is so extreme that they are prepared to self-harm in the process.

And don’t take my word for it. Jacob Rees-Mogg, the high priest of the Brexiteers, said this week that it could take 50 years for us to benefit from a no-deal Brexit.

Why? Because, quite simply, there is no major country in the world that trades only on WTO rules, every one of them has a trade treaty with at least one other country, and most have many, many more.

If we walk away from the EU with no deal, we will also be walking away with no deals with anyone.

Apart from the untold damage to our economy, there would be the immediate problem of massive delays at all the ports that Britain depends on for its imports, not to mention the entire M20 becoming one vast car park as lorries queue for customs clearance for our goods going to Europe.

So how do we stop this nightmare from happening?

Mrs May, to her credit, made a valiant effort a few weeks back with what she thought was her Chequers agreement, which amounted to a so-called “soft Brexit”.

It essentially entailed the UK staying closely aligned to Europe’s Single Market and Customs Union. But this was pretty soon kiboshed by Boris Johnson, David Davies and friends, leaving Mrs May with a Brexit that was neither hard nor soft – a sort of squidgy mess, unacceptable to the Brexiteers (hard and soft), Parliament or, most important of all, the EU.

At this stage it’s important to make one issue clear.

The only acceptable deal, as far as the EU is concerned, is a soft Brexit.

This is because under a hard Brexit, one which entails the UK uncoupling itself from the Single Market and the Customs Union, the EU would require there to be either a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic, or a border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK – both options have been firmly rejected by Mrs May, not to mention the Northern Irish DUP MPs, who are keeping the PM in power.

This being the case, there are only three viable options left.

The first is bashing on with the “squidgy” Brexit in the hope that miracles will happen and that somehow it will become acceptable to Conservative MPs, Parliament and the EU – possible, but highly unlikely.

Second, we could go back to the EU and say, “Ahem, we’ve changed our mind, can we stay in please?” To which the EU has let it be known, that the answer would be an enthusiastic yes.

However, given the result of the 2016 referendum this is not likely to be a solution that would go down well with those who voted Leave.

The third solution, which increasingly appears to be the only viable way forward, is to ask the people.

But this time there would be no simple claims – lies as some people call them – such as that by leaving the EU we would be able to increase the budget of the NHS by £350 million every week, or that Turkey is about to join the EU. Instead the campaign will be, or should be, about the Single Market, the Customs Union and the Irish border – subjects that were hardly mentioned in 2016, by either side.

If, in the light of everything we now know, the majority still vote to leave, then so be it. At least this time the decision will have been taken with voters fully aware of the consequences of leaving – which is more than can be said for the last time we voted.

Ivor Gaber is professor of political journalism at the University of Sussex and a former political correspondent at Westminster.