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Alexander Boris Johnson is a British politician who formerly began his career as a journalist before switching to politics. Boris Johnson has been the center of most political critics and analysts worldwide throughout his political career, especially as the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister. However, his renowned figure as one of the most potent political leaders of the United Kingdom is attributed to his various moves during his tenure as the Prime Minister. This paper trails the overall political cadence of Boris Johnson and his main achievements within the three years he was the UK Prime Minister. While Boris Johnson received a lot of opposition and criticism in his governance, chiefly due to his outspoken nature, Johnson’s leadership was characterized by optimism, relentlessness, and concern for people’s interests, which brought significant political and economic changes to the people of the UK.
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Political Cadence of Boris Johnson
Firstly, Mr. Boris Johnson has long been labeled a divisive political leader. Although he identifies as a leader who values unity, some critics consider him a controversial leader who is far much outspoken regardless of his audience. For example, he was accused of racism when he referred to black people as “piccaninnies” in one of his speeches, an utterance he later had to apologize for. In another incident, Mr. Johnson was accused of ‘Islamophobia’ after a controversial comment about Muslim women (Allen, 2021). However, some of Mr. Johnson’s supporters defend his outspoken character claiming that it is through his ability to speak out that Mr. Johnson fought and delivered the nation’s freedom from the European Union.
Secondly, Boris Johnson is an optimistic and relentless leader. One of his remarkably bold political moves was vying for the mayor’s office despite being a member of a less popular political party at the time. In London, where he was re-elected mayor, Boris Johnson gained popularity because he was a firm and optimistic believer in ‘Brexit.’ Through this initiative, most Conservative party members supported his campaigns for a referendum in 2016 (Evans et al., 2021).
Lastly, Boris Johnson is a democrat who cares for the people’s interests. Before his agreement with the EU to exit the bloc, the United Kingdom remitted a large sum of funds to the union. Mr. Johnson was firmly against this membership. He boldly campaigned against it and later succeeded in delivering the country from the union (Gamble, 2021). Some of his supporters consider this move one of his greatest legacies. However, Boris Johnson has conversely been scrutinized and criticized as a defiant citizen following an investigative report that tainted his conduct as a top government official during the Covid-19 pandemic. He was accused of breaking Covid-19 protocol while the country was observing movement restrictions.
Boris Johnson’s Main Achievements
Boris Johnson is the Prime Minister who led the country out of the EU bloc. Although some parliament members were against this move, most MPs voted in favor of the initiative, with Boris Johnson being the mastermind of the whole process. This historic exit from the bloc has helped the country save a significant amount of its revenue (Branston, 2021). Furthermore, Mr. Johnson proposed that the funds formerly allocated to the European Union should benefit the health sector and consequently improve health services in the country.
Additionally, Boris Johnson won the majority votes in his Conservative Party by a considerable margin (Heppell & McMeeking, 2021). Although some may not agree that he was responsible enough to take an oath of office, it is evident that his qualifications and official performances in previous offices were some of the determining factors for his election. Moreover, Mr. Johnson’s success in becoming the Prime Minister is always attributed to the immense support he receives from his fellow leaders within the Conservative Party.
Furthermore, Boris Johnson presided over the immense rollout of Covid-19 vaccines. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the health sector was challenged in administering vaccines to the large British population. However, the government, led by Boris Johnson as the then Prime Minister, was instrumental in facilitating the process. Although there was a relatively high infection rate in the UK, its government’s response to the pandemic was also remarkable compared to other countries. (Carol et al., 2020). Some may argue that the consequent large turnout for vaccination was solely due to the people’s discretion. However, reports show that the government’s sensitization role was crucial in vaccination.
Conclusion
Conclusively, Boris Johnson’s successes and failures as the Prime Minister were instrumental in shaping the current socio-economic structure of the United Kingdom. Different people have different views concerning his dramatic regime. It is, however, important to note that Mr. Johnson began his political career not as the Prime Minister but in a junior government position. He has since risen through several other ranks to become the Prime Minister. Additionally, most of the positions he has been sworn into were elective, and the people voted for him in the respective offices. Due to the many controversies surrounding his cadence, the former Prime Minister will not be remembered as the best leader the UK has ever had. However, it is essential to point out his achievements, given that a significant part of his tenure was greatly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
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