Now Boris can show his mettle on Brexit

BORIS Johnson is right to put a “relentless drive to deliver on the promise of Brexit” at the heart of his government’s agenda.

Few people have done more to make Brexit a reality than the Prime Minister. He is also the man to make it work.

On Tuesday the Queen will attend the opening of Parliament and announce a series of Bills which would have been impossible if we were still in the European Union.

People of all parties and ideological persuasions are waking up to the extraordinary scope of possibilities that cutting the cord with Brussels has opened up.

It is absolutely right that we negotiate trade deals that are best for Britain, make changes to public procurement that give small companies a decent chance of winning contracts, and introduce legislation to stop animal cruelty.

For decades, British policy-making has been constrained not by the democratic choices of citizens but by the diktats of Brussels. Ministers should be more than branch managers; laws should be based on a mandate from voters and the values and vision of their elected representatives rather than what a sovereignty-stifling foreign institution decides.

There is a new role for imagination and bold leadership in British politics. Mr Johnson has been bruised by the recent elections but has no deficit in either of these qualities.

He will strive to continue to provide unequivocal support for Ukraine while tackling the cost-of-living crisis.

As a biographer of Churchill, he knows that prime ministers have to earn their place in the history books.

The loss of key councils – and hundreds of councillors – will have only redoubled his determination to deliver a meaningful premiership.

Thankfully, post-brexit realities mean he has a vastly expanded range of power-tools at his disposal. His party should now get behind this mission and change Britain for the better.