This is the most important election in modern history – so vote, and vote Tory

Next week, voters will decide the future of the government, of Brexit, and perhaps of the Union. Jeremy Corbyn has been admirably clear on what he offers: a radical experiment in far-left economics, going after the wealthy to fund the biggest expansion of government ever attempted in this country. Boris Johnson proposes to complete Brexit and restore much-needed stability to government. But given that about half of voters still oppose Brexit, the race is close.

Corbyn offers a new referendum on Brexit. It is easy to snigger at his declaration that he would be neutral during this campaign. But his pledge to be an ‘honest broker’ conceals the deceit that his referendum represents. Voters wouldn’t be asked to choose between the current Brexit deal and Remain, but between Remain and a new deal, yet to be negotiated, which would almost certainly be Remain in all but name. It would be a mockery of a choice and would ensure that the second referendum would inflict even more damage on our democratic fabric than the first. Additionally, after being promised a ‘once in a generation’ referendum in 2014, Scots would likely be subjected to another independence campaign — as the price for the SNP propping up a minority Labour government.

Yet these referendums would be minor headaches compared with the economic chaos. Under a Corbyn government we can expect a flight of capital caused by an attempt to bring back mass collective ownership and confiscation of private property in the form of nationalising 10 per cent of every company. If this comes about, it will be because not enough people took Labour seriously: they did not believe it would happen. The shocks of recent elections — the election of Donald Trump, the triumph of Brexit and populist victories across Europe — have shown that the unthinkable is happening on a fairly regular basis.