A Performance Analysis of the Great Offices of State
As we pass the one-year mark in which Boris Johnson became the Conservative Party leader, I want to take a look back at how the Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Home and Foreign Secretary have performed since taking the reins from Theresa May in July 2019. The handling of Coronavirus will live long in the legacy of the Boris Johnson’s government, yet despite this, the public unquestionably expect manifesto promises and constituency work to be continued. In order to gauge public opinion, I asked the Blue Beyond members in a recent survey for their thoughts regarding the relative performance of the Great Offices of State.
Prime Minister: Boris Johnson
General approval rating - 6/10
With regards to Coronavirus, as it may have been expected, Boris’ personal struggles were a key feature in many responses. He is not the first Prime Minister to be taken ill during their premiership; Winston Churchill suffering a stroke, as well as Anthony Eden and Margaret Thatcher both had to take time away from Downing Street for various reasons. Many members found it admirable that he recovered so promptly and had the desire to continue working as quickly as possible.
On Boris Johnson’s biggest downfall, during the pandemic, the issue of timing featured heavily. Personally, I believe that this is an unjust criticism. Whilst our journey through the peak of the virus and through the ‘easing of lockdown’ has been far from smooth, predicting the future is near impossible, despite how much scientific data there is. It is all well and good to say that x, y and z should have been done differently, but we have to remember that such remarks are being made with the benefit of hindsight. In addition to timing, clarity of message was commented on frequently. This specific area split many opinions, with responses ranging from “blunt” and “vague” to people commenting on the effectiveness of slogans such as “stay at home, protect the NHS, save lives”.
Chancellor of the Exchequer: Rishi Sunak
General approval rating - 9/10
When asked about Sunak’s best moments when dealing with Coronavirus, as you could guess, the furlough scheme was a popular response among the Blue Beyond members. Undoubtedly, the furlough scheme has been world beating and a great success in terms of keeping unemployment and the collapse of businesses to a minimum. However, I believe that as we gradually move out of lockdown and get people back to work, the transition away from the furlough scheme needs to be managed well, as many people will be used to it. The furlough scheme must not be seen as normal, in my opinion.
On Sunak’s biggest downfall, barely any responses came through. Sunak, among many Conservative voters in general, is extremely popular; one Beyonder described him as “calm, sensible [and] the voice of reason”. Despite publicly stating that he did not want to be Prime Minister, I think that Sunak has been hugely impressive during such difficult times in British Politics. I believe that he is more than capable of winning a general election and I think a big factor influencing my opinion is his ability to ‘cross party lines’. Some of his policies are more left wing than others, which I think would be hugely beneficial in an election – especially when it comes to swing/marginal seats.
Secretary of State for the Foreign Office: Dominic Raab
General approval rating - 7/10
Dominic Raab’s most notable role since the Coronavirus outbreak has been to fill in for Boris Johnson when he was admitted to hospital. Many responses praised his performance as Deputy PM. However, whilst some saw this period as successful, others did not. One response stated that he was a “weak performer, dull and not very inspiring” which I have to disagree with. When he held the first Prime Minister’s questions, which was also Keir Starmer’s debut, I personally think that he handled being in unfamiliar territory extremely well. I found him to be very logical, straight forward and calm in his responses. In addition, I think his plans to bring people home who had been stranded abroad worked very well.
When I asked what Dominic Raab should focus on post Coronavirus, nearly all of the responses mentioned China in some capacity. All of the responses wanted the UK to take a tougher stance on Huawei, Hong Kong and Uyghur Muslims.
Secretary of State for the Home Office: Priti Patel
General approval rating - 7/10
Priti Patel’s approval fluctuated hugely between the Blue Beyond members. The positive aspects about her included her work for the police. I think this is a major win for Priti Patel as it is crucial that our emergency services are protected and treated with the upmost respect as society cannot function without them. In addition, Priti’s work for victims of domestic dispute was also praised.
In terms of Priti Patel’s biggest downfalls, many said that she should not have allowed BLM protests to happen during quarantine. I personally feel like this is an unjust criticism as the media and many people may have seen this, or despite fact, portrayed it as an attack on BLM. The risk of being controversial is too great here in my opinion. Another popular criticism is the fact that she, at times, hasn’t been presentable and has seemed absent. I am a great fan of Priti Patel and I don’t think she has done a lot wrong when she has been speaking publicly, yet I agree to an extent, I would definitely like to see her more, in terms of media appearances.
Hayden Greengrass
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