I’ve been mobbed by Labour MPs who don’t understand why:

A) Jeremy Corbyn has delayed their ability to regain momentum against surging Lib Dems and Greens by delaying for at least a fortnight a decision to adopt a referendum-and-remain position.

They regard as comic his riposte in shadow cabinet to Emily Thornberry that he "needs time to bring the movement with him" - which they interpret as "Len McCluskey won’t let me move".

And B) why Jeremy Corbyn has started the process of reselecting Labour candidates, which is forcing many of them to return to their constituencies to save themselves from deselection rather than fighting a disunited Tory Party.

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You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more

You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more

You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more

You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more

You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more

This is what one influential EU figure said: "I hear a herd of unicorns trampling around."

And another said "preposterous rubbish".

I can already hear Johnson saying: "They would say that, wouldn't they?"

But if he becomes PM he will need all his persuasive charm to avert a no-deal Brexit.

And to be clear, EU leaders won't be terrified of that outcome, because they understand parliamentary arithmetic as well as you and me, and they will assume MPs would trigger a general election rather than roll over and allow the UK to leave the EU without an agreement.

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You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more

You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more

You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more

You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more

You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more

You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more

You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more

You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more

You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more

You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more

You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more

You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more

Having chatted with Tory members over the weekend, my sense is these ministers are spot on – even if that offends against your sense of what is proper.

Johnson’s many devotees know that the candidate they simply call “Boris” is always getting into what they see as scrapes.

Worse than that, they see this kind of incident as either a leftie and media conspiracy to undermine their hero, or – if they believe what happened – as proving that he is “human”, just like them.

Their reactions are analogous to how Trump has shrugged off – both before and after his election – his many transgressions against decency.

There was a cartoon, recalled by the former Labour MP Chris Mullin, that neatly sums up the gap between the media and Tory members.

It was about the disgraced former American president Richard Nixon: “If the people really wanted moral leadership, he’d give them moral leadership.”

What the people – or at least many Tory people –...

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