Shropshire Star comment: Johnson is always the big story

But as far as the West Midlands is concerned, we may have to be rather patient when it comes to seeing any of the benefits close to home.

None of the major projects confirmed in the first phase of the £5 billion package of developments are West Midlands based, meaning, for the time being at least, the revolution will have to wait.

We can only assume the Government is holding back on the West Midlands projects until the second phase of the strategy.

One thing is for sure, there are certainly no shortage of road improvements we could do with around these parts.

The proposed upgrade to the A5 in Shropshire has not made the initial shortlist, but Shropshire Councillor Steve Davenport says the £5bn set aside for “strategic road projects” is encouraging news for the effort to dual the A5 between Montford Bridge and Oswestry. Councillor Davenport also wants to see safety improvements at the Llynclys crossroads.

Both projects are long overdue but convincing the government to fund them will be no easy task, although it would certainly be a popular move among many in Shropshire.

With the Conservative conference in full flow, it is understandable the party is desperate to push out some headline grabbing policies that may curry favour with voters ahead of the next election.

It is certainly true Boris Johnson will be hoping for a boost from big ticket announcements such as the plan to increase the national living wage.

However, there is no escaping the fact Mr Johnson himself is always likely to be the big story – whether he likes it or not.

The Prime Minister has spent the majority of his time in Manchester denying allegations of a thigh grab and fielding questions over his links with business deals when he was London Mayor.

Some of the allegations he has faced may well turn out to be politically motivated. But he will be well aware of the fact that for any Prime Minister, the highest possible level of scrutiny is to be expected.