Irish Studies in International Affairs

Abstract:

The legacy of Boris Johnson's government so far is over 167,000 COVID-19 deaths, partly because of mishandling, cronyism and delays of crucial decisions. Meanwhile, Johnson's hard Brexit deal is in the short term a political victory but in the long term will provide few benefits for the UK economy. Resilience in the combined post-COVID-19/Brexit British economy will be hindered over the next few years, and the two factors may lead to the break-up of the UK. Difficulties for the UK in dealing with Brexit and COVID-19 are a story of disorganisation, exceptionalism, misunderstanding, lack of preparation, neglect and delusion consistently crashing against reality. This paper examines the UK government's incompetence on Northern Ireland, the impact of Brexit on the City of London, and how populism combined with years of neglect of the National Health Service by successive Conservative governments has hampered the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.