In the hours after the EU referendum results were announced, Johnson took time out to write his regular column for the Telegraph. Four months earlier, he had joined the Leave campaign in a transparent attempt to boost his leadership credentials among the Eurosceptic Tory ranks. Now, David Cameron had resigned as Prime Minister and the time had come for Johnson to demonstrate his statesman-like qualities. Having successfully campaigned to secure an end to Britain's 43-year membership of the European project, he wrote: "I cannot stress too much that Britain is part of Europe, and always will be."
We all have coping strategies, and it appeared Johnson's was denial. [...]
Were Johnson to win the leadership battle, one of his greatest challenges would have been to steer the economy through the troubling times ahead. He seemed unfazed by the prospect. On May 22, he wrote a Telegraph column in which he imagined a page from a history book written a few decades in the future, about post-Brexit Britain. "Project Fear turned out to be a gigantic hoax," he wrote. "The markets were calm. The pound did not collapse." It is a view he reiterated this week, but unfortunately one that had already been proven to be completely false. In the wake of the referendum result, the pound plummeted. Markets were rocked, and ratings agency Standard & Poor's stripped the UK of its coveted AAA credit rating. Johnson's policy was to Keep Calm & Carry On in the face of mounting evidence that we are facing economic meltdown. [...]
Much of the public opposition to immigration has emerged from perceived pressure on public services, such as GP waiting lists and housing. This is not an area in which Johnson has a good record. During eight years as mayor, he spectacularly failed to tackle any of London's most pressing problems—an unprecedented housing crisis, the spiraling cost of living, and increasing inequality between rich and poor. Instead, he left behind a trail of broken promises, on Tube ticket offices, homelessness, and transport fares. We can already see the same approach being taken by the Leave campaign, which since the referendum result has removed all its campaign pledges from its website, including a promise to provide the NHS with the £350 million [$464 million] each week which it claimed was being paid to the EU. Boris's time as mayor would have given his opponents ample ammunition to throw at him.
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