When Nigel Farage was asked recently about whether Brexit had been a success, he gave an answer that was loaded with different meanings.

It was the case that Brexit had failed – not because it was a flawed decision, but because the politicians who were supposed to implement it failed.

While emphasising that he did not want to turn the clock back, he said the Conservatives had let down the country “very very badly”.

The sharp divide over the referendum to leave the European Union remains, but the government - like the rest of us - has had to get on with tackling other issues, only tangentially related to Brexit.

Of Rishi Sunak’s five key pledges announced at the start of the year, the one conspicuously allied to Kent and Brexit was the much-vaunted one to “stop the boats”.

And there is on this promise, to put it bluntly, not much progress and certainly not much evidence to contend that Brexit would mean us having greater control of our borders.

Then there is the feeling that the government is treading water on issues like the implementation of checks of foodstuffs deemed potentially hazardous, not forgetting the continuation of schemes like Operation Brock to manage traffic flows in and out of the country.

When it comes to tourism, it has been the Covid pandemic that has created so much havoc and it is only recently that bookings have picked up; meanwhile, passenger numbers on Eurostar have dropped by about a third and as has been well documented, services are no longer stopping at Ashford International or Ebbsfleet International stations.

As to the financial dividend for the NHS, the claim that it would mean the service getting £350m a week or more has not been borne out; or if it has, no one has seen the cash.

No one expected it to be easy but it is fair to say there are unanswered questions about the Brexit dividend.

Perhaps Brexit has the political equivalent of the seven-year itch although the unappealing idea of a messy separation might just be the last thing that is wanted - on both sides of the argument.