What he detests is less liberalism than democracy, and the obstacle it poses to Russian foreign policy objectives.
Looking back, 55 years of Liberal and Liberal Democrat by-election success looks less important than UKIP’s two-year surge.
The governments of the 1930s illustrate how little a huge majority is worth if it isn’t married to a strong and imaginative policy programme.
Does the Anglican character of Toryism explain why it’s avoided producing the long and fascinating list of breakaways sported by Labour and the Liberals?
It was not entirely clear at the time that it had created a new political structure that would last for generations – with the Conservatives as the leading party of the state.