Whenever I’m asked if I regret backing Brexit, I like to point to what’s going on in the institution we left.

Just look at how the useless Ursula von der Leyen has been foisted on a reluctant European public – again. Late last night, at a summit of European Union leaders, it was confirmed that she will continue as president of the European Commission. Meanwhile, former Portuguese prime minister António Costa will lead the European Council and Estonia’s Kaja Kallas will step down as her nation’s PM to become the EU’s foreign-policy chief.

The confirmation of these appointments is a stark reminder of the EU’s contempt for democracy. Its leaders, its policies and its laws are decided not by public consent, but by backroom talks and horsetrading, through processes that are deliberately labyrinthine and opaque, and impossible for the lay citizen to get his or her head around.

It was just two-and-a-half weeks ago when voters across the EU dealt a bloody nose to the Brussels establishment in the European Parliament elections. Populists, Eurosceptics and right-wing parties surged to new heights. Yet none of that matters when it comes to picking who runs the EU. The EU treaties say the results should be ‘taken into account’, but they are not the deciding factor.