The Conservative politician Enoch Powell once said: “All political careers end in failure.” This is undoubtedly the case for Boris Johnson, who had a meteoric rise in politics but has now been forced to make way for a new British prime minister and leader of the Conservative Party.
The drama of the last few days partly explains why so many ordinary people have lost trust in their political leaders in the UK and most western democracies. The political skulduggery that many followed in real time on their TV sets shows how few politicians understand when it is time for them to leave political life.
Johnson’s political success was built significantly on his undeniable charisma.
This made many people feel that he was genuinely capable of making their lives better. His ‘levelling up’ strategy helped the Conservative Party win over many Labour supporters in the UK in the 2019 election that saw the party win the biggest parliamentary majority since Margaret Thatcher in 1987.
Still, in a few years, Johnson’s erratic and often amoral behaviour and tolerance of impunity for those in public life who abused their positions of power meant that his MPs no longer trusted him, personally, administratively or electorally.
With the next UK elections about two years away, Conservative MPs sensed that Johnson has lost this electoral appeal. Despite a lacklustre Labour leadership, a change in government is looking more likely.
Johnson’s political legacy will always be linked to his delivering Brexit after sitting on the fence about whether or not to support the break from the EU.
It is still too early to judge whether Brexit will be the success Johnson promised the electorate it would be. Currently, several challenges remain unresolved, including the conclusion of a new trade deal with the US and the UK-EU Northern Ireland Protocol, which the British government wants to change.
Whoever takes Johnson’s place in the next few months will inherit the same problems he faced. The UK economy is stagnant and, like other European countries, is plagued by the threat of persistent high inflation
Whoever takes Johnson’s place in the next few months will inherit the same problems he faced.
The UK economy is stagnant and, like other European countries, is plagued by the threat of persistent high inflation.
The levelling-up strategy promised by Johnson is still a notion. Those living on the fringes of British society may feel that not enough is being done to rescue them from social and economic deprivation.
The world today faces formidable challenges not just due to the pandemic and the Ukraine war but also because the neo-liberal political strategies of the 1990s are beginning to prove incapable of addressing today’s socio-economic failures. Some contenders for the leadership of the Conservative Party will want to win over support from party members by promising more tax cuts and a return to some of the Thatcherite policies.
This may be a wrong approach as it does not address the widening income and wealth inequalities gap in UK society.
The Brexit saga is closed. The real challenge for the next UK prime minister will be building a meaningful economic relationship with the EU and other countries.
The astonishing UK political drama of the last few days is now probably over. Democratic practices have prevailed as they did when Donald Trump forcibly refused to accept the US election results.
Bridging the widening trust gap between the UK electorate and their political leaders remains a work in progress.