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The Conservatives have won a landslide victory for the first time in more than a generation. All the talk of a hung Parliament melted away as soon as the exit polls were announced. The

result of this election will resonate for many years to come, because it means that the British people has decisively rejected Jeremy Corbyn and his extremist policies. For Boris Johnson, it

is an achievement that should silence opposition and enable him to occupy the centre ground. He can and surely will be magnanimous. Crucial to the result has been the fact — increasingly

undeniable but constantly denied — of Labour’s anti-Semitism. This has proved to be much more than a distraction. There is nothing in our history that would give comfort to those peddling

such an ideology. It confirmed the impression that a once great party had fallen into the hands of scoundrels. When it came to the crunch, the voters’ instincts were sound. The margin of

victory is so huge that the far-Left will struggle to create a mythology of betrayal. That doesn’t mean that they won’t try, merely that it won’t easily gain traction. The scale of the Tory

triumph also means that Boris Johnson can afford to ignore sniping from the wings. The Farage faction can safely be ignored and Boris will become a truly national Prime Minister for the

first time. This is a test of his leadership but he has shown as Mayor of London that he is capable of creating a very big tent indeed. Remainers as well as Leavers should take comfort from

this prospect. One of the consequences will be that Boris no longer need feel beholden to Donald Trump or any other foreign leader. He can embark on trade negotiations with Europe and

America with the confidence that only comes from a popular mandate. Pessimism about endless Brexit talks should give way to hope that a good free trade deal is within our reach. Among his

peers, only Emmanuel Macron has enjoyed comparable electoral success. There is time enough to assess the impact on the Cabinet. There is no doubt that the strategy advocated by Dominic

Cummings deserves some of the credit for this result, along with Isaac Levido, who ran the campaign. But the victor is Boris Johnson and no unelected adviser should be given power beyond

their constitutional due. This is a huge moment in British history. Democracy is always awe-inspiring when it delivers such a decisive result. Those who reviled Boris Johnson won’t abandon

their doubts. Nor should they. But this was to all intents and purposes a referendum, both on Boris and on Brexit. He has won on both counts. It is time to move on.