As the election results were coming in last week someone asked me why I was looking strangely pensive when there was euphoria all around. The truth was that, for an absurd moment, I was thinking of four years’ time. My party is at a high water mark, one which I hope will project us into Government. Once there’ it will be very hard to sustain such a dominance of political control at so many levels. How ridiculous to be a Jonah at such a time. I should be like the Arsenal supporting cab driver I chatted to when they had just won the double. He said, “It’s a great time to be an Arsenal fan. I’m just going to enjoy it”.

The sobering thought I should have been having is the prospect of being in Government. While there is still the possibility of two long years before the next election and many hefalump traps along the way, there is at least a very good chance that we will make it. What then? The difference between Government and Opposition is that, in Government, the hopes and fears of millions hang on what you do rather than what you say. Some Parties make Opposition the primary purpose of their existence. Some politicians can be devastatingly effective in Opposition but are not able to make the transition to Government. I am confident we have a team at the top who are serious about governing. They are planning what they will do, day by day and week by week. This is not hubris or over-confidence. It is just the quiet recognition that Government is about managing the hopes and expectations of families and individuals living in an uncertain world.

So Boris has done it. A huge achievement when you consider that London is a left-of-centre City. If you average out elections in London over the last 20 years it always returns more Labour and Liberal MPs than Conservatives. I hope he sets about clearing out some of the flotsam that fills the bloated bureaucracy created by his predecessor. He has the brains and drive to be a really successful Mayor.