All Boris’s faults and weaknesses – habitual lying, shallow thinking, self-interest – were widely known years ago, so Conservatives knew what they were doing when they chose him as leader.
The end point was foreseeable and foreseen by many. Presumably, the determining factor in the choice was his good-old-boy manner, which was calculated to bring in votes from those who don’t look too closely at what they’re getting – a judgement proved correct in the 2019 election.
He claimed great things for himself in his resignation speech, but they need closer examination.
For instance, he “got Brexit done”. Yes, but! After he first became PM, almost exactly three years ago, he did nothing about Brexit for quite a time, to the extent that he convinced many he was going for a “no deal” Brexit. That led to the intensification of the parliamentary debate, and the consequent frustration of no progress. Then someone drew his attention to a proposal for resolving the Irish question, originated by one of Mrs May’s team and rejected by her because it would create a border in the Irish Sea.
Boris swooped on it, carried it off for a quick discussion with the Irish Prime Minister, and then did a deal with the EU in fairly quick time. He asserted strongly at the time that it would not cause a border between Britain and Northern Ireland, though many were pointing out that it would do just that. Everyone knows what happened subsequently. Either Boris didn’t understand what he was doing, or he did know, but already had in mind to break the agreement. Both possibilities fit his character.
Just one more brief example: He was commendably quick at giving arms and ammunition to Ukraine. No one would quarrel with that. But those items came out of the cupboard of our own armed forces, already being depleted by Conservative policy. A wise PM would have ensured prompt orders for replacement with the arms manufacturers, but months later such orders are not yet going through. That’s to say, if we suddenly had to respond, eg to an action call from NATO, there could be a notable shortfall in what our British troops needed.
I hope Conservatives will be a bit more careful in their next choice of leader.
John Tippler
Spalding
