If British Prime Minister Boris Johnson seems rather glib about the idea of his country crashing out of the European Union without a deal - an outcome that myriad authoritative bodies have predicted will be highly costly for the British economy - it is most likely because there is something he fears more than that.

Mr Nigel Farage's Brexit Party is far from a real opposition party. It doesn't have a single Member of Parliament. It may even have peaked in the polls since Mr Johnson took the Conservative Party reins. But it could easily pose a threat to the Conservatives winning an electoral majority.