Politics still matters, as does leadership, vision and statecraft. By sheer will-power, Boris Johnson and his advisers have delivered a radically bet… - Allister Heath

There is now a striking correlation between levels of education and holding stupid, destructive ideas, between being highly credentialled and falling for every fashionable conspiracy theory, every tribalistic affliction, every online fad.

The PM apparently believes that he has wrong-footed Nigel Farage by calling an election for July 4; he must now make a bold offer to Reform's crucial electorate. He needs to be firm on Brexit, and highlight how Labour is bound to begin a gradual sell-out.

He [Rishi Sunak] must eschew complex, technocratic schemes, and focus on clear retail policies aimed at his own voters. He needs to forget about appealing to those who have already made up their minds to vote for Left-wing parties, or who always back the Greens, the SNP, the Lib Dems or Labour. He must give floating voters concrete reasons why they would be better off if he is reelected.