The real Boris effect'? He fiddled while Britain burned

Never in the history of this country's post politics has so much damage Enlightenment been caused to so many by one man in so little time.

- ANTHONY SELDON

Boris Johnson was billed as the great hope of British politics, the man who would provide strong leadership after three years of lacklustre and divisive stasis under the dignified, if challenged, Theresa May. He had been a famous mayor of London for eight years and was the biggest political beast in the jungle, the man who could light up any room and reach disparate parts of the country better than any other person in politics.

He won a great landslide victory in December 2019, the first by a Conservative leader since Margaret Thatcher in 1987. He wanted to be better than Thatcher – to be like Winston Churchill. But rather than being in the premier league of prime ministers, he finished bottom of the Vanarama National League.