The new parliamentary year will be very different, for MPs and journalists alike

Think the prime minister will return after recess refreshed and full of vigour? Think again, writes Andrew Woodcock

Crisis management: Boris Johnson has had a torrid summer (AFP/Getty)

The return from summer recess is usually a time for fresh starts at Westminster.

With any rancour and dissension among MPs dissipated by six weeks on beaches and in constituencies, prime ministers have plenty of opportunities to draw a line under disputes of the past and inject some vigour into their plans for the future.

Traditionally, the autumn starts with a series of party conferences giving the prime minister and leaders of opposition parties a chance to gee up their activists, launch new policies and generally hog the media headlines with their biggest speeches of the year.