It was not the most memorable of speeches and some of the gags were a little cheesy.

But Boris Johnson had a tricky challenge as the political party conference season ended, namely trying to satisfy a party that remains divided over Brexit.

He stuck to his line that he would leave the EU by the end of the month come what may - an ultimatum that continues to carry risks, especially given the prospect that he may have to ask for a further three-month delay.

One striking feature was - inadvertently or by design - his echo of the "we are ready" slogan used by Brexit Party.

His attempt at a call and response with the audience, asking "were they ready" didn’t quite have the same fervent reply Nigel Farage got at a rally in Maidstone last week.

It was pretty light on detailed policy proposals, too.

Instead, there were general declarations of intent on previously-declared pledges on police numbers and school funding.

He contrived one or two jokes about the conduct of MPs in the Commons, saying parliament would be failed by Ofsted and MPs would have been ejected by viewers if they were participating in a reality-TV show.

It didn’t quite strike the right tone, particularly given the furious row he had himself triggered about his dismissal of concerns expressed by MPs about abuse, death threats, and trolling.

Ultimately, this was a speech designed to frame the negotiations over the coming weeks with EU officials - and MPs - about Brexit.

The stakes couldn’t be greater and the Prime Minister knows he is balanced on a political high wire.

The Brexit circus moves back to parliament, which is where his fate and that of his government will be determined in the coming weeks.

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