The best way for Boris Johnson to engage with ‘the people’ would be to hold a Final Say referendum

Should we perhaps pause to wonder whether the Acropolis is really evidence that the Greek war leader Pericles 'believed in great infrastructure projects'? Or should we move on to slightly more relevant political questions?

We at The Independent are in favour of positivity, optimism and the common ground, so let us praise Boris Johnson for seeking to engage with the people in whose name he now governs.

Let us admire the innovative use of a tablet computer on the prime minister’s desk in No 10 as a prop with which to conduct “The People’s PMQs” by video on Facebook.

Let us not dwell, therefore, on the quibbles about the exercise that small-minded critics, less endowed with positivity and optimism, might entertain. It would be negative and carping to point out, for example, that 10 minutes to camera in response to questions from members of the public selected by himself or his advisers is not exactly a searching test of democratic accountability.