Boris Johnson resigned as Prime Minister, ending a day and a half of speculation on his future after the resignations of his Chancellor and Health Secretary. Operation ‘Save Big Dog’ failed. The outgoing Prime Minister will seek to sure up his legacy in the upcoming months whilst he remains in office. This began from the moment of his resignation speech, where he spoke about his supposed achievements regarding Brexit, the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. As the recent Chris Pincher scandal demonstrates, it is important to take what the Prime Minister says with a pinch to a wheelbarrow load of salt. Once you apply a magnifying glass to what the Prime Minister wants you to believe about him, a different picture emerges.

Once you apply a magnifying glass to what the Prime Minister wants you to believe about him, a different picture emerges.

The first achievement Johnson mentioned was ‘getting Brexit done’ which was originally thought to be completed on January 1st 2021 when we left the Brexit transition period. However, it appears that the ‘oven-ready’ withdrawal agreement which was signed by the UK, had some wrong ingredients. The UK is currently seeking to amend the Northern Ireland Protocol which was agreed upon as part of the deal.  This means that Brexit is supposedly done, but it has been completed via the signing of an agreement which the Government is now seeking to alter three years after it was signed. Hardly a massive achievement.

What makes this an even greater spectacle is that Johnson said ‘over my dead body will there be a border in the Irish Sea’ which the Northern Ireland Protocol produced. So once again, do not trust the Prime Minister’s words. Let’s remember the accurate version of getting Brexit done. The agreement of a kind of deal that the Prime Minister said he would never sign and now he seeks to change. 

The next thing he named is ‘settling our relations with the continent’. The use of the word ‘settling’ is extremely curious given how the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill seeks to change our international agreement with the continent unilaterally. The EU has already threatened legal action in response, which would further deteriorate our relations with the continent. Therefore, our relations with the continent are anything but settled.

He later changed his focus to the pandemic. The Prime Minister claimed that he delivered ‘the fastest vaccine rollout in Europe’. According to Our World in Data, this was the case until May 2021 whereupon Malta overtook us. Whether this statement is accurate or not depends on interpretation, but it certainly is misleading. The vaccine rollout was certainly a great achievement but we haven’t led the pack on this for over a year now. With Covid-19 cases on the rise again, we must not get complacent with our best defence vaccines. So yes, be proud of our initial speed at vaccinations, but more vaccines must be delivered to be world-leading.

Whether this statement is accurate or not depends on interpretation, but it certainly is misleading

The last achievement the Prime Minister recalled was ‘leading the West in standing up to Putin’s aggression in Ukraine’. The UK has undoubtedly been one of the greatest allies of Ukraine since the recent invasion of its sovereign territory by Russia as demonstrated by the relationship between President Zelensky and the Prime Minister. But to say we have led the West may be an overstatement. We were faster than our European allies to respond with military support as the threat of an invasion loomed, but we were slower in introducing sanctions against individuals linked to Putin. Additionally, our humanitarian response has been largely criticised as we rank 8th for the number of Ukrainian refugees registered under national schemes despite having the 2nd largest population in Europe. Therefore, the UK may be pulling its way in some ways, but in others, there is much improvement to occur. 

What is very noticeable about Boris Johnson’s resignation speech is no mention of the key reason for his resignation- his lack of integrity. And more importantly, no whiff of an apology or regret. I am sure some will argue he has apologised before for Partygate and for the appointment of Chris Pincher as deputy chief whip, which is true, but this was his resignation address due to these very issues. He was talking to the whole country, reflecting on his time in office and this was a perfect opportunity to reassert his regret over his mistakes. The lack of mention of these shows a lack of understanding of what brought him down and humility. To resign because your own party cannot trust you anymore is very major, and it doesn’t appear he understands this.  This erosion of standards of the job of the Prime Minister is part of his legacy.

What is very noticeable about Boris Johnson’s resignation speech is no mention of the key reason for his resignation- his lack of integrity.

One result of the Conservative’s victory which we are yet to see the full results of is the change to the Labour Party. After Labour’s worst defeat since 1935, Jeremy Corbyn resigned as the leader of Labour.  This ushered in a new era under Sir Keir Starmer, who has won Jewish voters back with his determination to combat antisemitism within the party and is taking back Labour to the centre-ground. These are important steps to make Labour electable again and will no doubt form part of Johnson’s legacy. 

So what is the Prime Minister’s legacy?  A Brexit that is still being changed and negotiated today. A relationship with Europe which could worsen still. A successful vaccine programme which led the way in Europe for half a year. A good response to Ukraine but a better refugee policy is needed. A lack of trust in the country’s leadership and politics more generally which will take time to rebuild. And finally, an electable Labour.

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