Do you believe in anything? Do you, in fact, have any convictions at all, Boris? “Only one — for speeding, but a very long time ago”.

This answer to a serious question, recorded by Sonia Purnell in her biography Just Boris, is a decent joke but it’s an even better insight into the beliefs of the man overwhelmingly likely to be Britain’s next prime minister.

If he succeeds, there will never have been a party leader who has expressed an opinion on so many things over such a long period of time as Boris Johnson. Except, interestingly, Jeremy Corbyn. So, as with Mr Corbyn, there is plenty of material to help us form a detailed picture of what he stands for.

It is often