While his many enemies will characterise Boris Johnson’s period as Prime Minister as an inglorious blip in British political history, the man derided as a lying buffoon without principles has in fact had an impact that will last for decades. Taking the UK out of the EU - a cause he espoused on a whim because he rightly thought it would serve his own interests - will do huge long-term damage to the Welsh economy, with those who can least afford it suffering the most.
What makes him arguably the worst prime minister Britain has ever had is not the absurdity of partygate and other examples of routine dishonesty, including the awarding of Covid contracts to party cronies. It is the fact that he used the charisma he undoubtedly has to persuade people to go along with a monumental act of self-harm that without radical change will have seriously negative consequences for a generation and more.
Johnson’s relationship with Wales has long been tinged with contempt. He has no time for devolution, which he sees as a troublesome inconvenience that interferes with his ambitions for “Global Britain”.
