How Boris eclipsed Cameron

Remember the days when David Cameron was the sleek young prime minister who had brought to an end 13 years of Labour government and Boris Johnson was just a clown on a zipwire?

There seemed little doubt that Dave had won the race between the Bullingdon Club contemporaries for the glittering prizes of political life, seizing the chance to fashion a moderate Conservatism for the modern age. Boris, the great entertainer, was destined to be a far less consequential figure – a squanderer of his own talents.

The Greensill affair underlines the perils of rushing to premature judgment. But while it is perfectly obvious that Boris now has the most glittering prize of politics in his pocket and Dave is the one engaged in reputational self-harm, the reversal of fortunes goes far deeper than that.

Boris Johnson and his chancellor Rishi Sunak are already well on course to eclipse David Cameron and his chancellor George Osborne as figures of historical importance.