Replacing May with Boris Johnson does not actually require a further general election, as was the case when May took over from the departed Cameron, so the first of Dr Alf’s predictions does not have to come true. However, perhaps we should consider the prediction as a worse-case strawman for the Conservatives to manage?

His second prediction is correct in that Labour would win a General Election against the Conservatives whatever form of Brexit or fudge was on offer.

A General Election is neither wanted nor needed now but to win the next one, Boris Johnson, or whoever it is, will have to deliver rising hope and prosperity, some difficult home truths to both bosses and workers, some measures to appease the young, systems building and measures to isolate abusive pensioners damaging the NHS.

We will need facts on the ground in the form of an economy focussed on export led growth and we will need public services which are affordable.

There will be a fudge on immigration and the Single Market and within two years we will be facing different events.

The public, except for a tiny number, are not prepared to do certain types of work and are not qualified to do the highly skilled, highly paid roles in banking and research that is required in computer software, nanotechnology, biotechnology, cybernetics etc. These roles have to be performed by people who come from countries with a serious predeliction towards pure and applied mathematics not from this one whose state education system is 44th in the world.

This will have to be put to them in language they understand and in very short order after May is replaced. They will not like it but they will have to be told and given some examples of what it will mean if they fail to “get with the programme”.

The festering train driver’s dispute and the London Underground are perfect examples in that all trains should be fully automated and all strikes in strategic public services should be outlawed, thus allowing the strikers and troublemakers to be fired en mass, along with the bosses of TFL and Southern Rail who should have the franchise removed and not be paid another penny.

John Gelmini