Where does Boris Johnson stand so far in the pantheon of prime ministers?

Despite unique challenges, this prime minister has done the same as most before him and lost the public’s approval within his first year, writes Sean O'Grady

Johnson has turned around a remarkably high approval rating in the space of a few months (AFP/Getty)

It’s been a turbulent 12 months, no one needs reminding, and no previous prime minister has had to face the lethal mixture of challenges thrown at Boris Johnson.

Looking just a little further ahead, things, as the old New Labour theme song didn’t go, can only get worse. The Ministry of Defence has apparently been asked to make contingency plans for a quadruple whammy of disasters that will slam into the country simultaneously this winter – a second wave of Covid, the end of the Brexit transition period, an outbreak of flu and seasonal flooding.

It is an almost biblical concatenation of horrors, and not everyone sees Boris Johnson as the nation’s saviour. His trials are only just beginning. His place in history may be assured, but for all the wrong reasons. Where then does he stand in the great pantheon of premiers?