IF BORIS Johnson manages to survive – and as things stand that is a huge 'if' – it will demand a complete reset of his policies.

This would be akin to the Back to Basics campaign of John Major, which ultimately failed. That campaign did however have some logic. By contrast the Johnson approach is around puerile messages, such as Operation Save Big Dog and Operation Red Meat.

These ideas are coming from the same advisers that created the mess in the first place. To date they are about gunboat diplomacy in the English Channel towards migrants and a populist attack on the BBC. The aim is to reawaken the spirit of Brexit that swept Johnson to power and that is doomed to fail.

A reset means getting back to mainstream Conservative thinking and that could bring some benefits for agriculture. The Green policies Johnson has made his own need to be rethought. The UK is irrelevant in a global climate change context, but there is no harm in setting an example. However that does not mean betting the house, in his case Downing Street, on unproven policies driven by advisers rather than politicians.

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A Conservative reset would demand a more mature approach that values agriculture. Strip away the green rhetoric and it remains the biggest and best way to be greener, via local production, short supply chains and good farming practices that guarantee food security and green outcomes. This would reflect true Conservative thinking and a move away from the problems Johnson has created by being easily led, believing sound-bites and bluster can top solid facts.

If he wants to show what Brexit is capable of delivering, a radical break away from the green dogma of Brussels must have an appeal. Johnson's future lies in securing grass roots support and that demands a return of respect for farmers' role as food producers. That may be academic since Johnson's days are probably numbered. But hopefully his successor will see the need for a policy reset and a move back to thinking that emerges from meeting rooms rather than drawing rooms, no matter how expensively decorated they are.

It is typical of Johnson's gung-ho advisers that in the month when all the focus is on plant-based food, that they choose the name Operation Red Meat. Veganuary is something farmers endure annually. It secures massive publicity but changes little. The European Commission has just published figures suggesting those who want a shift from meat to fruit and vegetables have a mountain to climb. The five a day target for fruit and vegetables has been around for a long time, but across the EU just 12% of people are achieving that goal. Half ate between one and four portions a day.

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This counters claims that we are on a road away from meat, with people apparently not willing to make even the modest changes to achieve a healthier diet. This in many ways is akin to the green policy dash in both the EU and UK, in that people say it is a good idea, but do not reflect it in their everyday lives. That is a lesson for Johnson if he still believes nailing his colours to a green mast can be part of Operation Save Big Dog from the wrath of the MPs and party members deciding his future.

One consequence of Brexit was the loss of policy influence in agriculture that came from France. The EU grew over the years, but the beating political heart for agriculture remained France. It is now holding the six-month EU rotating presidency and it is pushing policies for agriculture we would all like to see here. It is pressing for trade in food products to be linked to countries meeting EU standards, using a block on deforestation as a measure likely to secure political support in Europe.

It is also stressing, as part of a review of the green EU Farm to Fork strategy, that agriculture must be competitive as well as sustainable. This is thinking that farmers understand and a major benefit of being in the EU was that if France and Ireland secured good outcomes for farmers the UK had to implement them. Those days are gone, but the message that agriculture must be competitive to be sustainable should be on the wall of any Conservative prime minister, be that Johnson or his replacement.