The Herald: Kevin McKenna unspun banner new

THE case for Boris Johnson being awarded the title of Britain’s Worst Prime Minister gets stronger with each passing week. Future historians will surely cut some slack for all world leaders during this pandemic, but even from this far out you sense that there will be no mercy for Mr Johnson.

The Prime Minister’s last claim on redemption lay, as always, with those ordinary men and women who kept voting for him through all the bluster and pratfalls. From the moment though, that ITV released footage of his staff giggling as they war-gamed the worst-case scenarios of that Downing Street party you sensed the goodwill of his core supporters evaporating.

Mr Johnson seems, from the outset, to have reached for personal popularity over the appearance of competency. “All you clever-clogs and nay-sayers can mock all you like, but real people still believe in me.” This only works, of course, so long as the people don’t start to think that you’re mocking them. And not at a time of national emergency.

His supporters will always say that it would be unfair to judge a political leader on his actions over the last two years, which constitute almost the entirety of his premiership. After all, this is a shape-shifting global contagion that seems to specialise in lulling us into a false sense of security before changing its own DNA and striking with even more deadly force. It has left even the most seemingly competent leaders and administrations looking like fools. He hasn’t yet had the chance to show us what he can do running the country in normality.  

Well, perhaps. But you might also reasonably suggest that all that was required of Mr Johnson in this period was that he take the pandemic seriously and give the appearance of efficiency. And besides there can’t ever be a return to what we once might have considered to be normal. For better or for worse this was the hand that the PM had been dealt and he simply had to get on with it.

The brakes might have been applied on Mr Johnson’s reckless foolishness if his government had included serious men and women with experience of reading the country. But he chose to get rid of all of them by making absolute loyalty to a hard Brexit the price for staying in post. And so, we got Gavin Williamson, Dominic Raab and Priti Patel. He has surrounded himself with a toy-town cabinet of third-raters. These people are so grateful simply for being granted high office that none would ever question the man who made them powerful for a period.

Outside the coronavirus Mr Johnson had promised to reduce social inequality by ‘levelling-up’ the north. The people bought it, but it lasted for about five minutes before he told them that the HS2 rail-line wouldn’t be stopping nearby after all.

The only serious chance of making Brexit work was to conduct himself like an adult in his dealings with our former European partners. Instead he’s chosen to insult them and, in return, they have mocked him and mocked Britain.

He might even have claimed some credit for leaving Afghanistan in an orderly fashion and protecting those people who had translated for the British Army during their occupation of the country. Instead he prioritised the welfare of dogs over them and their families.

If Mr Johnson is permitted even to carry on until the next election in 2024 the chances of Scotland becoming independent will increase exponentially. And if this country does attain its independence Boris Johnson will be seen as the single most important factor in helping getting it over the line. And his status as Britain’s worst Prime Minister will be assured.