Johnson tells a striking story of Britain's future, but it's the results that will count | Martin Kettle

The PM’s conference speech ranged from wind power to social care. Without clear targets, how can we measure his success?

Boris Johnson is a Marmite politician, so it is no surprise that his Conservative conference speech has provoked radically different responses. Those on the right who can only ever see Johnson’s strengths – as vote winner, optimist or charismatic leader – heard only the speech’s virtues and ignored its many weaknesses. Those on the left who see only Johnson’s vices heard the exact opposite – the speech’s narcissism, vagueness and at times nastiness – not its larger potential significance.

There was more to Johnson’s speech than this. Perhaps that is because, in a Covid-dominated virtual conference season, the text of a leader’s speech looms larger than the theatrical performance. That has rarely been the case with Johnson, where the performance is normally all. This time, however, his speech contained a lot of clues about his government’s intended direction – while highlighting the problems it will encounter in trying to stick to it.

Related: What did Boris Johnson's conference speech really mean?

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