Britain stands alone at a crossroads, set to take a different course to the rest of Europe, going it alone and preparing to jettison tariffs and import duties on grain and other goods coming in from around the globe - while turning swiftly down the free-trade route to the detriment of the nation’s farmers and growers.

The Conservative party is in turmoil and set to tear itself apart with MPs and ministers turning on their own leader – while the opposition party appears too weak to take advantage of the situation. Meanwhile the country versus urban divide draws ever greater.

But before the eye-lids begin to droop and the zzzz’s inevitably induced by yet another Brexit piece start to kick in, this uncannily familiar tale which could easily have been plucked from the pages of almost any recent newspaper actually harks back to 1846.

The big Brexit equivalent of that period was the repeal of the Corn Laws which at the time had been in existence for almost an entire generation – and which had ensured that grain farmers (and the landed gentry they paid rent to) had a level of protection afforded to their produce and position respectively.

First introduced in 1815, the Corn Laws imposed big tariffs on any grain imported into Britain and helped keep the price of wheat and other cereals up. And although the repeal which saw the law end and taxes on imported grain removed was an internal domestic issue, it took the country out of step with much of the rest of Europe, where tariffs remained in place.

Although seldom attained, the aim of the Corn Law was to keep the price of wheat at what was then viewed to be the “fair” level of 80 shillings a quarter. And while the calculation required to convert that into the equivalent price today might make your eyes water, so is the result of the sum – for it works out at over £1100 a tonne in today’s money!

However in 1846 amidst growing calls from the fast-growing urban population the Corn Laws were repealed and a new policy of free trade was introduced, marking the end of over thirty years of protectionism and throwing the country’s doors open to imports of farm good and grain from around the world.

Just as we’re seeing proposed today though, the change was phased in, with a three-year transition period devised to soften the blow.

But while the situation might have been significantly different from today – and it has to be admitted that the boot was fairly firmly on the side of grain growers until the repeal - it does show that we’ve been through huge upheavals before. And if we end up with a no-deal Brexit, this won’t be the first time the farming industry has been well and truly hung out to dry.

In parallel with today’s situation there was a huge amount of political shenanigans over the issue – and the move which was forced through by the then Prime Minister, Sir Robert Peel, tore the Conservative party apart..

It could also be viewed as marking the point when the old land-owning elite lost the battle for political dominance to the growing manufacturing industries and an increasingly urban-centric population, many more of whom were getting the vote and so suddenly became of markedly greater importance to the politicians.

Interestingly the widespread devastation which it was thought the move would precipitate in the farming world didn’t actually happen straight away – and due to a series of poor harvests and the relatively undeveloped transport links to and within America, the predicted dire effects of the change in policy didn’t fully kick in for a further twenty years.

However a decade or so down the line, the development of railway systems in both the US and Canada which could see wheat produced in those countries transported to ports coincided with the development of steam ships which could bring it across the Atlantic.

And the huge quantities of cheap wheat which could be imported from both America and from Russia which was also keen to push up its export too did result in a huge blow to British farming from the 1870s onwards, unprotected as it was by any trade barriers.

Later UK governments lacked any desire to protect the country’s farmers - for fear any trade barriers might hit growing exports in the industrial and other sectors - and because they also wanted to sustain a cheap food policy to keep on the right side of the electorate.

So the free-trade policy remained and no protection was given to farmers, prompting one politician to say that British agriculture had been “thrown overboard in a storm like unwanted cargo”.

And while some survived the crisis which continued through the 1880’ and 90’s, many didn’t and huge numbers left the land. One writer commented on the change, stating:

“Those who tended the land with the greatest pride and conscience suffered the most as the only chance of survival came in a lowering of standards” – mirroring a fear which has often been voiced today.

And as imports surged, prices on the home market fell. This resulted in a huge drop in the area of wheat grown in the UK, with some estimates reckoning that the area sown down to wheat dropped by around a million acres over the second half of the nineteenth century.

While only around two per cent of country’s grain requirements were imported in the 1830s, by the 1860’s home production was accounting for only three quarters of demand of the grain consumed - and by 1880’s our level of self sufficiency in wheat had dropped to well below half of what was required to feed the nation.

But, like watching a film you know the end of, obviously the industry struggled on and didn’t become extinct.

However it took the grim reality and privations of two world wars to convince the corridors of power that it was folly to rely so heavily on imported food and to eventually turn this policy around.

And while we might find history a bit of a bore, it’s a sin if the political classes who have been cashing in on the jingoism of the long-gone British Empire don’t take a closer look and learn from the mistakes of the past.