It is a year since Boris Johnson entered Downing Street as Prime Minister on the back of a decisive general election victor. But while politicians have learned to expect the unexpected, 2020 was a year of unpredictability like no other.

So, how has Boris Johnson, who was among the thousands who contracted coronavirus and ended up in intensive care, acquitted himself in his first year in office? Has he delivered on the party’s key manifesto commitments? Political Editor Paul Francis gives his assessment.

Brexit

The Conservative election campaign was dominated by the promise to “Get Brexit Done” - in fact, the constant repetition of the soundbite sometimes made it seem as if it was the only commitment the party was making. But it clearly appealed to an electorate that had tired of the tortuous efforts of Theresa May to get a deal through without a working majority.

So, has Boris Johnson succeeded where his predecessor failed? The Withdrawal Agreement Bill passed its third and final reading in the House of Commons on 9 January 2020, with 330 in favour to 231 against. And it became law at the end of January. Unlike the political furore that had dogged Theresa May, Brexit landed on the statute books with barely a murmur of dissent. The other side of the coin is the seemingly intractable issue of trade agreements and whether the UK leaves with or without a deal. In economic terms, whatever is agreed - or not - will determine the issue of whether UK firms will be hit by tariffs and the extent to which deals outside the EU can be forged under World Trade Organisation rules.

And for Kent, the question of whether the government has done enough to deal with the practical consequences of Brexit on the county and limit the congestion and disruption that many fear will only be answered when the transition period ends.

Rating: Got Brexit done? Yes, but on what terms is still up in the air and fears of gridlock are rising.

Health and the NHS

Another key manifesto priority for the government, was an eye-catching pledge to recruit an additional 50,000 nurses along with a promise to build 40 new hospitals and to offer 50 million more GP appointments.

Inevitably, the NHS has been battling the coronavirus crisis and these ambitious targets have to be seen in the context of the pandemic.

But the 50,000 target for nurses remains a priority: Chancellor Rishi Sunak said in the recent spending statement the “core health budget” would get a £6.6 billion boost to help deliver 50,000 more nurses and 50 million more GP appointments. The timescale is for the end of the Parliament, so what progress has been made only covers this year.

In July, health secretary Matt Hancock said 6,000 more doctors and 12,000 more nurses were in the NHS compared to one year ago and the government was well on its way to meeting the 50,000 target. The true test of that won’t be known until the end of the current Parliament. On the current figures, the government will have to match the 12,000 extra staff every year for the next three years to fulfil the commitment.

There was also controversy over a pledge to build 40 new hospitals, a recurring theme of the Conservative election campaign.

There was, however, a distinct lack of clarity when questions were posed about where these new hospitals might be built.

It had been thought the 40 would include a new Canterbury hospital. Boris Johnson certainly gave credence to the idea when he told a party conference meeting in 2019 that Canterbury was going to be one of the 40 new hospitals “in the biggest programme of hospital infrastructure investment for a generation.”

However, the government rowed back on the claims and it later emerged the 40 did not include Canterbury and that just six had been given the lion’s share of a £3bn fund to renew buildings and a further 21 trusts had been offered so-called “seed money” to work up plans to repair crumbling buildings.

And Kent MPs have recently appealed to the health secretary Matt Hancock for a £400m injection to turn round the beleaguered East Kent NHS University Trust .

Rating: Good intentions, some progress but worrying symptoms suggest remedy for improvements but still some distance away.

Policing

Another key pledge in the campaign was an old Conservative party favourite: putting more bobbies on the beat. In numbers, the promise was for 20,000 additional officers. In Kent’s case, the Conservative police and crime commissioner Matthew Scott increased the force budget to fund close to 200 extra recruits.

The increase brought the total number of full-time equivalent police officers to 3,732, representing an increase of 550 on the 3,182 that were on the books when he took office in 2016.

However, while there was an increase over that period, it was still short of the number in 2010, when there were 3,787 officers on the beat in the county.

Rating: The numbers have risen; but the jury's out on whether upward trend will continue.

Climate change

It was David Cameron who tried to convert his party to a green agenda, with limited success. Boris hasn’t quite managed to match Cameron’s eye-catching trip to the Arctic to “hug a husky” but in setting ambitious carbon neutral targets, there are now specific commitments against which his government can be measured. However, the government’s own climate advisers say achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 will require far-reaching changes to the way we live. Within five years, the UK will need to turn its back on coal-fired power, eat 10% less meat and plant 30,000 hectares of new forest every year to reach that target.

As part of what has been dubbed his “green industrial revolution” cars and vans powered wholly by petrol and diesel will not be sold in the UK from 2030.

There are signs of progress: the UK has seen the lowest level of carbon emissions since the second World War - falling by 12% - but that is largely because of Covid restrictions limiting movement and travel, particularly by air.

On the downside, it has been revealed that the planned Lower Thames Crossing is estimated to add more than five million tonnes of CO2 to the UK’s carbon emissions.

Rating: A gear change to accelerate progress needed.

How is Brexit going to affect Kent? For all the latest news, views and analysis visit our dedicated page here.