Highs and lows of Boris Johnson's premiership one year since General Election win
By Westminster Producer Lewis Denison
For most of us, 2020 has dragged on and on, so you may be shocked to learn that it has been just one year since Boris Johnson won the 2019 General Election.
At the start of January he famously declared that 2020 will be a "fantastic year for Britain" - of course his prediction was shortly crushed by the Covid pandemic and it's hard to see how the year could have been any worse.
With Mr Johnson completing his first year as an elected prime minister, we take a look at the highs and many lows that have befallen him since his landslide election win.
The PM's pledge from Downing Street to 'transform the country' following landslide
An optimistic Mr Johnson had huge ambitions for the country when he delivered his first speech from Downing Street since being reelected prime minister - but he had no idea his plans would soon be postponed by a deadly virus.
Standing on the steps of Downing Street, Mr Johnson insisted that he would fulfil his promise to "get Brexit done" (more on that later), and told the country it was time to "to let the healing begin" following a bitter election campaign.
He wrapped up his victory speech by telling the public 2020 would be a "a year of prosperity and growth and hope", and entered the doors of 10 Downing Street to thunderous applause.
Coronavirus hits - but it can't dampen the mood just yet, Brexit is just a day away
On January 30 the World Health Organisation declares that coronavirus is an international public health emergency, but much of the UK is awaiting what it hoped would be much more momentous news.
A day later the prime minister makes good on his general election promise, by getting Brexit done at 11pm on January 31.
Mr Johnson said the moment marked an "extraordinary turning point in the life of this country" and it was time to "unleash the potential of the whole UK".
"Let us come together now to make the most of all the opportunities Brexit will bring," he said.
Downing Street marked the moment with a light show projected onto Mr Johnson's Number 10 home and thousands celebrated in Parliament Square.
The coronavirus situation gets "serious"
The government announced it would introduce powers to forcibly quarantine people with coronavirus as the number of positive cases in the UK grew to eight.
The Department for Health said the virus presents a “serious and imminent threat to public health”, and the World Health Organisation said "detection of this small number of cases could be the spark that becomes a bigger fire".
Despite serious concerns about Covid-19, on February 11 the prime minister appeared confident that there was little to worry about.
A day after the warning from the WHO, Mr Johnson said: "We are a great country, we have got a fantastic NHS, we have got fantastic doctors and advice, and they should simply take the advice of the NHS.“People have every reason to be confident and calm about all that kind of thing… all the coronavirus, and any threats from disease.”
The PM reveals he's engaged and expecting a baby with Carrie Symonds - but they're already causing controversy
Not only did the prime minister reveal his girlfriend Carrie Symonds was actually his fiancée, but the couple were also expecting a baby.
A spokesperson for the couple said: "The Prime Minister and Miss Symonds are very pleased to announce their engagement and that they are expecting a baby in the early summer."
Mr Johnson, 55, and Miss Symonds, 32, made history as the first unmarried couple to officially live together in Downing Street when they moved in together in 2019.
The announcement came just 11 days after his divorce to previous wife Marina Wheeler was finalised 27 years after the got married.
Around the same Mr Johnson and his fiancée caused controversy by holidaying on the Caribbean island of Mustique, in a £15,000 trip reportedly paid for by a Tory donor.
Coronavirus is a pandemic and the UK enters lockdown
With the World Health Organisation's announcement that coronavirus was now a pandemic, it was becoming obvious that 2020 may not be the year Mr Johnson had hoped for.
WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the "alarming levels of spread and severity" of coronavirus meant it was a pandemic.
On March 11 he said: "Pandemic is not a word to use lightly or carelessly. It is a word that, if misused, can cause unreasonable fear, or unjustified acceptance that the fight is over, leading to unnecessary suffering and death."
On March 23 the PM announced the UK was being put into a three week lockdown - it in fact lasted three months and the country is still under strict restrictions.
He said the nationwide lockdown - in which he asked people to stay home and order the closure of most businesses - was "vital to slow the spread of the disease" and "save more lives."
The PM catches Covid-19, enters intensive care, Dominic Raab takes over
Mr Johnson and his health secretary both tested positive for coronavirus on March 27, but it was a much speedier recovery for Mr Hancock.
The UK's coronavirus death toll passes 1,000 and days later Mr Johnson is admitted to hospital as a “precautionary step”, with his coronavirus symptoms persisting.
While in hospital his condition worsens and he's taken to the intensive care unit at St Thomas' Hospital in West London.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab steps in to deputise for the PM.
On April 6 it is revealed that Mr Johnson had been given "oxygen support" in intensive care after having difficulty breathing.
Boris Johnson thanks the NHS for saving his life
The prime minister reveals just how serious his time in hospital was, saying his battle with coronavirus "could have gone either way".
Issuing a statement as during his recovery, Mr Johnson said: “I can’t thank them enough. I owe them my life.”
The next day, after leaving hospital, he released an encouraging video, saying the UK "will win" the battle against coronavirus, because "our NHS is the beating heart of this country - it is unconquerable, it is powered by love".
Concluding his remarks on April 12, the PM said: “So thank you from me, and from all of us, to the NHS, and let’s remember to follow the rules on social distancing. Stay at home, protect our NHS – and save lives."
While Mr Johnson's personal battle with the disease was over, it could be said that the global fight against the virus was only just beginning.
Baby Wilfred is born
Less than a month after his brush with death, the prime minister and his fiancee welcome baby Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson into the world.
Their "healthy baby boy" was born on April 29 at 9am, and Mr Johnson was said to have been present throughout the birth.
Confirming the birth, Ms Symonds wrote on Instagram: “Wilfred after Boris’ grandfather, Lawrie after my grandfather, Nicholas after Dr Nick Price and Dr Nick Hart – the two doctors that saved Boris’ life last month. “Thank you so, so much to the incredible NHS maternity team at UCLH that looked after us so well. I couldn’t be happier. My heart is full.”
Dominic Cummings' controversial trip to Durham engulfs government
Enforcing a national lockdown became a little more tricky for the prime minister after it was revealed his chief adviser had flouted the rules himself by making a 260 mile round trip to Durham shortly after first experiencing coronavirus symptoms.
He made the journey despite the official government advice warning against all but essential travel.
Mr Cummings said he made the trip to seek childcare from his parents, and controversially, the PM refused to sack him.
He said Mr Cummings “acted responsibly, legally and with integrity”, and “any parent would frankly understand what he did”.
Mr Cummings defended his actions at an extremely unusual press conference in the No 10 rose garden, saying he behaved “reasonably” and does not regret his actions.
“I believe in all the circumstances I behaved reasonably and legally," he said.
Lockdown eases - but is it too much too soon?
After months of national lockdown, Mr Johnson tells pubs, restaurants and hairdressers they can reopen on June 23.
He also relaxes the two metre social distancing rule, to 'one metre plus' mitigations, such as the wearing of a face covering.
But critics of the easing of restrictions voice concern that coronavirus cases will soon rise again - they were right.
Little over a month later, the PM said there were signs of a second wave of the virus hitting Europe, and he urged Britons to be cautious.
Young people were said to have been the main drivers in spreading the virus, with many taking their chance to socialise again for the first time in months.
Thousands of students have their A-level results downgraded - but PM backs the scores
Students up and down the country were devastated on A-level results day after an algorithm downgraded their scores in the absence of exam results, due to tests being cancelled over the coronavirus pandemic.
On August 13 Mr Johnson insisted the scores were "robust, they're good, they're dependable for employers" - but teachers and students disagreed.
It wasn't long before pressure on the government became insurmountable and a U-turn was eventually performed.
The government admitted the system which had been used was "unfair" and allowed teachers to give students grade based on their predicted scores.
Mr Johnson's first PMQs after lockdown does not go well
MPs returned to the Commons after weeks away on September 1 but the prime minister did not have the vocal support of his MPs when facing Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer at Prime Minister's Questions.
Sir Keir was lauded for his "forensic" dismantling of Mr Johnson, in which he attacked the PM for a "crisis-littered" coronavirus pandemic, which he said had seen the government perform "12 U-turns".
Sir Keir said it had been a "wasted summer" which the government should spent "preparing for the autumn and winter".
"Instead they've lurched from crisis to crisis, U-turn to U-turn, to correct one error, even two might make sense, but when the government's notched up 12 U-turns and rising, the only conclusion is serial incompetence".
The PM defended his response to the pandemic, but a lack of Tory support made it more difficult.
It was at this session of PMQs in which Mr Johnson first began calling his opposite number "Captain Hindsight" - a nickname that would return at PMQs after PMQs in following weeks.
The tiered system of coronavirus restrictions is announced
Mr Johnson, on October 12, announced that a regional system of coronavirus restrictions would introduced across England.
The system would again enforce the closure of many businesses in some areas, but other areas with lower coronavirus levels would enjoy a level of increased freedom.
Despite Covid-19 levels rising in many parts of the UK, Mr Johnson said he did "not believe a full national lockdown would be the right course".
The Liverpool City Region was, at first, the only part of England to face the toughest restrictions, but Mr Johnson indicated a number of other regions would have also been placed into Tier 3, had local leaders not been resisting.
It was around this point that many accepted the UK was experiencing its second wave of coronavirus.
Boris's battle with Burnham
The prime minister made a thinly veiled jab at Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham when, in announcing the tiered system, he said local leaders were resisting restrictions.
Mr Burnham was not prepared to go down without a fight, saying he would "stand firm" against the strict restrictions until the PM offered increased financial support for the region, or imposed the new measures unilaterally.
He said the region is being treated as a "sacrificial lamb" by being asked by ministers to accept a proposal which the "government's own advisers say won't work".
Following a war of words, which played out in a number of press conferences, Mr Johnson decided Greater Manchester would be placed into Tier 3 without Mr Burnham's consent.
The PM held a press conference to announce the changes in Greater Manchester, just minutes after Mayor Burnham held his own press conference, revealing the government had walked away from financial support talks on Tier 3 restrictions.
England awaits second lockdown - did the tiered system work?
The PM announced, in an unplanned press conference on Saturday October 31, that England would be placed into its second lockdown, despite weeks of tiered restrictions.
It transpired that Mr Johnson was forced to hold the press conference against his wishes after news of the planned lockdown was leaked to newspapers.
The prime minister had been resisting pressure for a new national lockdown for weeks, insisting the local restrictions would work.
Mr Johnson warned there would be "several thousand" deaths a day, "far" more than the first peak of coronavirus, if action wasn't taken.
He warned that "Christmas is going to different this year, perhaps very different" but added that by taking action now he hoped that families could be together.
Figures used at the press conference announcing lockdown were criticised, after they were later downgraded.
Lockdown ended on December 4, and was replaced by the tiered system, only the restrictions under each level had been tightened, and more areas were placed into the toughest Tier 3.
'Scientific cavalry' arrives in the form of a coronavirus vaccine
The UK became the first country in the world to embark on a coronavirus vaccination programme after the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was given clinical approval.
A 90-year-old patient called Margaret Keenan was the first person to be vaccinated on what has been dubbed V-Day - the day vaccine rollout began.
“I feel so privileged to be the first person vaccinated against Covid-19.
"It’s the best early birthday present I could wish for because it means I can finally look forward to spending time with my family and friends in the New Year after being on my own for most of the year.”
Speaking at Guys and St Thomas Hospital, Mr Johnson hailed the rollout as a "shot in the arm for the entire nation" but warned there is still a long way to go.
He tweeted: “Today the first vaccinations in the UK against Covid-19 begin.“Thank you to our NHS, to all of the scientists who worked so hard to develop this vaccine, to all the volunteers – and to everyone who has been following the rules to protect others. We will beat this together.”
Unfortunately, two people who were vaccinated suffered allergic reactions.
Brexit is back, but it's not going well - PM says no deal 'looking very, very unlikely'
Less than a year after exiting the UK, Boris Johnson was forced to fly to Brussels in a last-ditch bid to win a Brexit deal, after chief negotiators failed to reach an agreement on the thorny issues of fisheries, the so-called level-playing-field, and governance of the deal.
The prime minister agreed to meet with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen in a bid to use political impetus to unblock barriers to a deal, but the meeting was not a success.
The pair said a final decision on the future of talks would be taken on Sunday, but the mood in the UK and EU is swaying toward no deal.
On Friday Mr Johnson warned that a no-deal outcome from negotiations with the EU is now "very, very likely", and that the UK will leave the bloc on World Trade Organisation terms.
After their meeting, Ms von der Leyen released the EU's contingency plan for no deal, saying there is no guarantee that if and when an agreement is found, it can enter into force on time.
"Our responsibility is to be prepared for all eventualities, including not having a deal in place with the UK on January 1."