Having spent most of 2020 insisting Boris would tap out at some point within the next year, either after the Brexit deal or after the pandemic, depending on who you read, it looks like half of the commentariat has made an about turn after realising how popular the Prime Minister still is in the wake of the local elections. Don’t expect to see as many commentators forecasting Boris’s imminent political demise from now on…

In academia the political scientists have been confounded. Writing on the LSE’s Policy and Politics blog, Robin Pettitt, who tells us “I am an expert in the internal life of political parties”, confidently predicted that the demise of Boris would be triggered this week and his replacement as Tory leader would be in place by the autumn party conference. This may need revising…