Three years ago this week, Boris Johnson was looking ahead to a long premiership – eight years at least. As the result broke of a majority of 80 in the 2019 election the prime minister pitched himself as a Blair-like figure – heading to Sedgefield, where his party had turned the former prime minister’s seat blue, for his victory rally. The implication was clear: Johnson was a leader who would be as influential and long-lasting in British politics as Tony Blair.
Fast forward to today and things look rather different. Johnson is on the backbenches – having been forced to resign in the face of successive scandals. After Liz Truss’s short stint in the job, he launched one aborted attempt to return. His former chancellor and political rival Rishi Sunak is now in charge. The polls suggest the Conservatives are on course for a heavy defeat at the next election, which could even include Johnson’s own seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip.
