Brexit hasn't broken UK plc but it has stopped vital repairs

The chance to mend the British economy's well-documented problems is being lost in a sea of uncertainty

It was supposed to be over by Christmas, yet the never-ending chaos that is Brexit and the search for a deal keeps rumbling on. Theresa May might have survived her confidence vote, yet with it she became the greatest lame duck prime minister in modern history.

From the few options for the way ahead, none seem workable as things stand. May's deal, even with a few tweaks, is unlikely to pass without wholesale reform. It appears dead in the water after her latest failed dash to Brussels. The best she could muster on her pre-Christmas shopping trip was the political equivalent of a limp bow to wrap around a gift that is as unappealing to her party as the proverbial lump of coal.

Related: A people's vote on Brexit used to be a distant hope. Not anymore | Matthew d'Ancona