Editor's note: Freddie Reidy is a freelance writer based in London. He studied history and history of art at the University of Kent, Canterbury, specializing in Russian history and international politics. The article reflects the author's opinions, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

Boris Johnson may be just over a year into his premiership; however, he is likely to face a painful autumn. 2020 was meant to be "a fantastic year for Britain," but global events bounced the UK government into a series of major policy decisions, some of which have received significant criticism. The euphoria of the landslide election of October 2019 seems a distant memory, so what is going wrong for the government and what can Johnson do to extricate himself from his current predicament?

In the twilight months of Theresa May's premiership, Boris Johnson's allies were working the tea rooms of the Palace of Westminster, trying to allay concerns over Johnson's potential leadership style. Many MPs were concerned by Johnson's flamboyant and often, haphazard style. The line was that the former mayor of London would operate more as a chairman than chief executive. The strategy worked and Johnson was able to win over the support necessary to beat his rival Jeremy Hunt in the subsequent leadership race.

Today, the opposite appears true with the PM facing calls to take a more active role in the running of the country. COVID-19 has presented all governments with an enormous array of associated challenges, from rescue packages to health care provision, education to border control. In the UK, there is a perpetual "open season" on politicians. Any support given to a government through feelings of patriotism or duty are short-lived. The queen is the head of state and such sentiment is directed at the monarch and not the government of the day, for which there is no respite.

The latest government debacle has been a U-turn on the way in which summer examinations were graded. A failed algorithm led the government to revert to a system of teacher predictions in lieu of a reliable formula. A large amount of pressure has been placed on education secretary and Johnson loyalist, Gavin Williamson.

During this crisis Johnson had been holidaying in Scotland, leading to calls for a return to clean up the mess. Such calls are common from opposition parties in a cruel move to curtail a prime minister's holiday during a parliamentary recess. The ploy worked though, with even pro-Conservative newspapers calling for the PM to return to the helm.

There is a growing concern among backbench MPs that ministers are not in command of their briefs. Priti Patel, the home secretary, has come under fire for her handling of illegal migrants in the English Channel as well as dealing with an inquiry into her personal conduct. Matt Hancock, the health secretary, is constantly fielding criticism for the COVID-19 response and perpetual snags at the Department for International Trade have held up vital trade deals with Japan. In transport, another major delay has been announced to a flagship cross-capital railway link.

There is a risk that this accumulation of departmental issues begins to look like wholesale incompetence. Even the few rising stars in the cabinet, such as Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, are on a collision course with the PM over cuts to welfare to control government expenditure.

One of the reasons for this accumulation of issues is that the cabinet is relatively inexperienced. David Cameron was able to rely on seasoned politicians such as former foreign secretary William Hague to deputize as well as having George Osborne at his right hand as a fellow architect of the Conservative Party revival, thus enabling the PM to act in more of a chairman-like capacity.

The drain of experience from the cabinet after the EU referendum and the resignation of Theresa May is sizable. Today, all holders of the great offices of state are under the age of 50 with the exception of the prime minister himself at 56, with few having much experience in senior positions before. This is also at a time where radical change is sweeping many government departments, further reducing smooth operation.

Boris Johnson is a campaigner politician, but so far, global events have hampered his attempt to get on the front foot, to promote the idea of a global, post-Brexit Britain to the world or indeed rally support for his domestic agenda.

A recent YouGov poll found that the Labor Party is now just within two points of the Conservatives, a far cry from the post-election high of last October. Criticism is also coming from within the party's own ranks. The leader of the Scottish Conservatives actually called for Gavin Williamson to consider his position after the exam results debacle and backbench MP Bernard Jenkin raised concerns over the portioning of responsibility for many issues to a "public body's fault but never the government's."

To quell this disquiet, Johnson must consolidate power in the cabinet and appoint those who share his world view and not necessarily those who facilitated his rise to power. Whether the prime minister is politically strong enough to do this ahead of a likely vote on an EU trade deal is doubtful.

What is no doubt though, is that significant trade deals must be secured to restore stability and faith and to permit the government to honor its high-spending domestic agenda. With UK borrowing standing at 2 trillion pounds, the stakes could scarcely be higher.

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