Let's hear it for the nation state

Dodginess on dodginess, but Johnson wasn't running away from himself, and that made it alright. If you had residual worries about his honesty (and I'd say the focus groups said middle-class women did) then it was OK. "You can't trust me on much," he seemed to say, "but you can trust me on this. Let's just get it done."

This election also puts the lie to the idea that demonstrations count for anything (as Extinction Revolution clogs up yet another bridge). The Brown Shirts of social media and the Squadistri of the streets are bullies. If they had the arguments, they wouldn't need to yell, scream, posture and provoke.

There are lessons for local politicians. They are similar for all sides. Be clear in your intent, be proud to be Australian, support mainstream values, lighten-up, be yourself, and don't be intimidated by social media, popular discourse or journalists. If you have personal failings (and you all do) own them, don't hide from them.

But that's just the beginning. Things have slipped in the UK as they have here. There shouldn't have been a constituency for what Corbyn was offering, but he's won over 200 seats, so there was.

That's because, as in Australia, the talkers elite infects, and frequently runs, all of our institutions and large businesses. They are no one's friend because they are only absorbed in themselves.

Election results like this UK one give us all, not just the British, an opportunity to re-engineer society and put it back on a firm basis. It should not be squandered.