David Silvester, the God-fearing UKIP councillor from Henley-on-Thames, is not a prude. His biography is still to be found on the website of Henley Conservatives — whence he departed in 2012 — and begins: “I have lived in Henley for 18 years and my wife Irene for 37 years.” The heroically uxorious Mr Silvester then tells those of us who believe in signs that he was educated at Uppingham.
Nevertheless he, or rather his God, does not demand marital fidelity from his leaders. Before departing the Tory whip he embraced the idea of the former Henley MP Boris Johnson taking over from David Cameron, saying that the former “would probably be better for the country”. No floods or pestilences, therefore, are to be expected as