IT is easy to see why so many Tory MPs have been seduced by Boris Johnson. They are not really thinking about Brexit; they are thinking that before we can leave, there may well be a general election and who is the best man to win that election.

The Tory leader will be taking on far more than Jeremy Corbyn. He will be taking on the big, chummy character of Nigel Farage, leader of the Brexit Party. Somehow Mr Farage has to be nullified. The Peterborough by-election gave the Tories 21 per cent of the vote and the Brexit Party 29 per cent which allowed Labour to pip them at the post with 30 per cent.

So can you imagine Jeremy Hunt or Sajid Javid taking on Mr Farage and taking him down? But you can see Mr Johnson, in a battle of big mouths, going head to head with Mr Farage. In fact, with his big, forceful personality, Mr Johnson might even make an electoral pact with Mr Farage.

However, this theory needs to be tested. The big mistake the Tories made last time was giving Theresa May the crown without trying her. The election was her first time flying solo and she crashed and burned.

Mr Johnson needs to be in every debate going so that we can see if his Brexit ideas are half-baked – like Mrs May's were – and so we can see how he might get no-deal through a reluctant Commons. And we need to see if, when under stress, he commits a gaffe that makes the situation worse.