What Boris Johnson taught us about the UK constitution

Pictorial Press Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo

At just over three years, Boris Johnson’s premiership will be shorter than many, although no less eventful than most. But in only three years, the approach he and his ministers have taken to governing the UK has taught us important lessons about the risks facing our constitution—lessons we must absorb rapidly as Liz Truss, who has arguably demonstrated similar proclivities as a minister, emerges as the frontrunner in the race to be the next prime minister.    

Long before Johnson became PM, we were aware that the UK constitution is an unusual beast: a centuries-old amalgam of precedent,…