It’s time for Boris Johnson’s opponents to decide what they want

Boris Johnson sees method in and admires some of Trump’s apparent madness: not the ‘send them home’ abusive chants about ethnic minority Democrat critics, but the refusal to play by the normal rules of politics or international relations (threatening to nuke North Korea before talking with its despot; imposing new tariffs on China while claiming to want a trade deal; ripping up the international entente with Iran prior to saying just days ago he could be the first US president since the toppling of the Shah to meet an Iranian leader).

In case Johnson hasn’t noticed, Trump hasn’t enjoyed any conspicuous success with what can perhaps best be described as governing through organised chaos – though equally the world hasn’t ended. Or at least not yet.

It isn’t a coincidence though that Johnson has chosen to defy all liberal opinion opinion by closing down parliament for five weeks, when most would say the imperative is for our representatives to be on the feet in the chamber holding him to account for how and whether we leave the EU.