“Americans shocked by spectacle of legislative body taking action” was his headline about the 21 Conservative MPs who defied Boris Johnson this week. It could still end disastrously in a no-deal Brexit, or in an early general election that gives the prime minister a majority (which amounts to the same thing). Whatever fate now befalls their careers — whether they are invited to rejoin the Conservative party, run as independents or go into retirement — their names will be remembered far longer than the lemmings who would follow Boris over the nearest cliff.