I am beginning to wonder what Boris Johnson is for. His election victory a year ago brought a moment of optimism. At the very least, London’s new mayor had deprived Ken Livingstone of a third term. Britain’s most popular Tory brought some gaiety to the life of the capital. For all the calculated bumbling, rumour had it he also had a plan.

Since then? Well, not a lot unless you count a cabaret turn in Beijing’s Olympic stadium, a run-in with Labour’s hapless home secretary over the leadership of the Metropolitan Police and a regular slot on Radio Four’s Today programme.