Every Westminster party and leader goes into 2022 in an uncertain position at a time of volatile polling and low trust in politics.
In the short term though, it is without doubt Boris Johnson who faces the greatest challenge – not only uniting his party and keeping Covid-19 under control, but also delivering on a wide range of manifesto promises as he heads into the second half of his term as Prime Minister.
Here are the nine biggest challenges he faces.
1. Covid-19
The most immediate question in politics is, once again, how to control the coronavirus without wrecking the economy and removing people’s freedoms.
Key data about the Omicron variant will continue to pour in, and before long we should know whether the UK is set for a repeat of the devastating scenes of last winter, with hospitals overrun and the NHS unable to carry out routine treatment.
Mr Johnson promised that first the vaccines rollout, and then boosters, would be the key to freedom. If he imposes fresh restrictions this time around, there will be no obvious way out.
Experts agree that at some point society needs to…
