Our current Brexit difficulty shows no sign of being resolved. Round and round the politicians go but, unfortunately, they don’t fall down and give us, their masters, another vote - this time on the options actually available rather than the nonsense the Brexit Brigade promised us last time. The idea that having a second vote undermines democracy because it might reverse the earlier vote is an insult both to democracy and common sense. People should reconsider their position when the facts materially change. Another vote, with the electorate allowed to choose from the options on a single transferable vote basis is, far from being dangerous, the only way to close this sorry chapter without a legacy of bitterness and division.

An unhelpful consequence of the Brexit mess is that those who seemed quite smart now look inept and those who are actually not smart at all look rather attractive and, unfortunately, electable.

The Conservatives we thought were a bit hard but would run things sensibly. Some - Heseltine, Major, Clarke - are still worth listening to but most of the rest look like squabbling children who can’t agree on anything except that somebody else (usually them) should take the reins and deliver the apparently simple and sensible - but actually daft and undeliverable - ideal solution.

The real danger does not come from those who have tripped themselves up but from those who sit on the side-lines. In Scotland the SNP take the lead - keen to tell us Scotland has been ignored on Brexit when the truth is we were, unfortunately, just on the losing side. They yearn for another referendum on Independence which would bring division, lost income, lost jobs and damage to our public services. More petrol is never a solution to a fire - but this is what they peddle.

The Labour party, controlled for most of its history by people who wanted to improved fairness within our society, has fallen under the leadership of a quite different type of person. Softly spoken and beguiling but actually lethal for the UK’s prosperity and place in the world.

The danger for businesses, those who want to create wealth and those who just want a steady job, is that both the SNP and Labour appear to be falling into the clutches of those who believe in loopy economics.

The SNP at least has a leadership which is trying to be sensible - even going to the trouble of appointing an independent commission to produce a - not perfect but useful - report which actually tackled difficult issues. A starting point for a sensible discussion. Unfortunately, it has gone down like a lead balloon with the party diehards. They don’t want to hear about fiscal discipline and deficit reduction, what they want to hear about is spend, spend, spend. As a result of Brexit the Scottish debate on real world economics is almost abandoned - but it must not be.

The situation at the UK level is even more worrying. Those at the top of the Labour party do not resist their wilful foot-soldiers - they lead them on. They have latched onto a new crank economic theory from America. Modern Monetary Theory - never heard of it? Well you will. What it essentially says is that it doesn’t matter how much a Government which has control of its own currency borrows. The wheeze is that because you can issue more money you can always repay any debt. Venezuela is a good example of MMT in practice - it leads to disaster - yet a real party which might form a UK Government takes it seriously.

We live in dangerous times. We need another referendum to sort out Brexit - and quickly.

Pinstripe is a senior member of Scotland's financial services community.