Boris Johnson is determined to break all the iron rules of politics | Larry Elliott

The PM continues to spurn convention, as the departure of Sajid Javid shows

Boris Johnson has broken one of the three iron rules of politics and his defenestration of Sajid Javid shows he thinks he can break the other two as well.

Rule number one is that oppositions don't win elections; governments lose them by failing to get the economy in fine fettle as election day approaches. Administrations that preside over periods of falling living standards lose seats, as was the case with Jim Callaghan in 1979 and Theresa May in 2017.