Johnson bolsters power at home as storm clouds gather overseas

BORIS Johnson has postponed his planned trip to see Donald Trump next week in the midst of UK-US policy spats from Huawei to digital taxes. With Mr Johnson fighting on several foreign fronts, including Brexit, he is therefore urgently consolidating his power at home after December's landmark election.

Indeed, the last 10 days - which saw several big government domestic policy announcements - have been the most important in UK politics since mid-December's Conservative victory. And Mr Johnson may now enjoy greater power today as prime minister than any of his predecessors since at least Margaret Thatcher, with his ambitions to be in Downing Street for much of the 2020s.

With the largest Tory majority in the House of Commons since Mrs Thatcher in the late 1980s, Mr Johnson could therefore now be at the height of his powers. Unlike Tony Blair, for instance, there is no obvious big counterweight to him in government like a Gordon Brown figure so he dominates the political scene - for the immediate future at least.