From Tony Blair to Boris Johnson: Here are their marks out of ten – Jim Duffy

Boris Johnson, Theresa May, David Cameron, Gordon Brown and Tony Blair. Who is the best Prime Minister of the 21st century so far?

Theresa May with current Prime Minister Boris Johnson following last year's general election (Picture: Eddie Hughes/PA Wire)

There is hope on the horizon! Nothing lasts forever and the world keeps on turning. At least, that is what I tell myself every time I hear Boris Johnson scoff, splutter, pause, guffaw, shout and preach. I keep telling myself that one day, he will go away and make millions from his post-prime-ministerial stint. Another Tony Blair. Yes, there is hope that one day the UK and of course Scotland can be led again by a leader of substance. A leader who is authentic, smart, polished and almost honest. Too much? Unfair on our most honourable friend the Prime Minister?

His handling of this current pandemic is woeful. His attempts to look like Winston Churchill make me squeamish. His lack of attention to detail causes me angst. And his protection of Dominic Cummings nailed the lid on his political coffin for me. I simply cannot take the man seriously and it stresses me that he has such a large majority. But I will give him some slither of kindness and benchmark his popularity and see where he sits against the last four of his predecessors. It’s marks-out-of-ten time.

First up and still fresh in many of our minds is Theresa May. The minister’s daughter done good. Honestly, the day she was put forward and was successful I was gobsmacked. As a Home Secretary, she seemed okay. Average. She was cutting about the Cabinet for a good while and seems to be a survivor, albeit she did not play the Westminster games too well or too often.

Nevertheless, Theresa made it to Number 10. She rode into Downing Street looking and sounding a bit like the late Margaret Thatcher. But, her time there was jaded by Brexit. And it made her time miserable. She could not get a vote through the House and she looked weak and vulnerable all the time. But, all that aside, I did kind of feel that she had some honesty about her.

I wish her well

I’d better define honesty a bit more clearly here. As politicians are economical with the truth or as some would say – liars – we need to be clear that there is a baseline and the job requires a level of “honesty”. For me, Theresa felt that bit more honest than most.

Perhaps that was part of the problem as a leader sitting in Number 10 with a barrelful of snakes. Being too forthright and honest can be perceived as weak. The role maybe requires more slippery characteristics to succeed. Theresa was ineffectual as a leader for me, but scores a big eight out of ten for being as honest as she could be. I wish her well on the backbenches.

Next up the man with a plan. A plan to save us all from that horrible Brexit thingy. He even brought in the big guns – President Barack Obama, no less.

Dashing Dave

Prime Minister David Cameron was as good as the Conservatives will get for a long time. I was actually sad to see him go. He had flair, panache and was an excellent communicator. He roasted Jeremy Corbyn at the dispatch box relentlessly giving him a bloody nose that never healed up. He looked the part too. Dashing and almost fresh out of public school.

But, where does the boy Dave sit on the authenticity and believability scale? Well, I’m going to score high again. I know, I’m ridiculous aren’t I? I think he worked hard to stop Brexit and while he got a slap every time he went to see his European counterparts, he held his head high.

He had charisma and could hold a room. I never sensed that he was scheming and conniving behind the scenes like BoJo. So, Prime Minister Cameron gets an eight out of ten also for believability.

Gordon Brown is by far my favourite. I didn’t find him particularly ebullient or exciting, but he just got on with things in a diligent manner. I thought he handled the financial crisis really well. To be told that the UK was hours away from financial meltdown with cash machines running dry was probably not a good call to get first thing in the morning. But, he listened to business and steered the UK through tumultuous times.

Of course, he got caught rotten on a live microphone with Gillian Duffy, whom he clearly disliked. But fair play, he turned the car around and in full view of the media, he ate humble pie. Can you ever see Trump doing that? No, me neither. So although looking grumpy and a bit of a grouser, Prime Minister Brown gets nine out of 10 from me for believability and being as honest as he could as regularly as he was permitted.

Measly marks

I’ve saved the best to last – Tony Blair. I’m afraid this guy does not rate well on the “honest John” meter. Sure he won three elections and there is no doubting that many loved him.

I guess his love for stardom, the USA and thus a poor decision to follow Bush into Iraq will forever shape how we think about his premiership.

Albeit, he did do great work in Northern Ireland for which we should all be grateful. But, this aside, Teflon Tony sits in the BoJo camp for me. I just find him hard to swallow. So, Prime Minister Blair gets a measly five out of ten from me.

Prime Minister Jonson needs to be given time to prove his worth. But, it will be time wasted in my opinion. Even now, I know that he will be a sub five out of ten.

But, remember, there is always hope! And a possible independent Scotland.

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