London | Boris. Not only does he need no introduction, he doesn’t even need a surname. A human headline, a prolific purveyor of Latin-annotated punchlines, a conveyor belt of copy. And now, a bookies’ favourite to be Britain’s next prime minister.

For many Brits, the idea of Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson moving in behind Downing Street's famous black door somehow inspires a sense both of inevitability yet also of incredulity.