Despite serving for barely three years, historians will judge Boris Johnson to be the most controversial Prime Minister since Margaret Thatcher.
In his own head, he will view his main achievement as hauling the UK out of the Brexit quagmire and the European Union.
He also took a sledgehammer to the Red Wall and gained a foothold for the Tories in parts of England once thought out of reach.
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A more accurate historical assessment will conclude that Johnson has been one of the UK’s worst PMs.
Partygate, and his disgraceful denials of what went on in Downing Street, deepened the divide between voters and politicians.
He appointed Chris Pitcher to the post of deputy chief whip, even though he knew of grave concerns about his behaviour.
Johnson, who has proven himself to be unembarrassable during repeated scandals, has left a lasting impression that MPs are liars who do not obey the rules they set for others.
His premiership, which he reluctantly terminated yesterday, has been a bottomless pit of mendacity that leaves the country diminished and exhausted.
But his main legacy will be as a Prime Minister who destabilised a Union his party is supposed to protect.
Johnson latched on to Brexit, a cause to which he arrived late in political career, as a vehicle for his personal ambition.
Britain’s top political grifter replaced Theresa May after sabotaging her Brexit proposal, signed his own dodgy deal, and then blamed the EU when it failed.
The instability in Northern Ireland, and the dangerous consequences for the peace process, are on him.
Johnson also gave a massive boost to independence by undermining the case for political unions.
Indyref2 was never a serious prospect before Brexit, but leaving the EU increased support for the SNP’s flagship policy and angered No-voting Remainers.
Although the SNP lost ground in the 2017 general election, Brexit has acted as a recruiting sergeant for the type of voter Nicola Sturgeon needs to build her pro-independence coalition.
His dismissive response to calls for indyref2 - effectively just saying no - was also defensive and reactive.
Instead of trying to reform the political institutions of the UK, his strategy on the constitution has been to pander to hardline Unionists.
One of his last acts was turning down a request by the First Minister for a joint agreement on a referendum.
This was hardly a surprise, but the one-dimensional nature of his response showed he had nothing to say to the Scots who reject the status quo.
Johnson’s actions have also allowed the SNP to portray Westminster as a place of disrepute synonymous with chaos, rather than the scandals being mere reflection on the PM.
Although over two decades have passed since the Good Friday Agreement and the devolution referendum, Johnson has undermined both settlements.
His rise raises questions about how an inept, one star politician can end up leading a country like the UK.
Part of his unlikely electoral success is down to luck, as a dead dog could have beaten Jeremy Corbyn in 2019.
He was also fortunate to have twice faced Ken Livingstone in London - a straightforward contest against a jaded opponent.
But his inexplicable advance is an indictment on the party he has briefly led.
Even though there were well-documented cases of disreputable behaviour, the colleagues who are now dissing him were the ones who installed in Downing Street in the first place.
He went from sacked journalist to Prime Minister without the grey beards in his party raising any serious objections.
Johnson faced a humiliating reckoning yesterday when he bumbled his way out of office. It is now the turn of the Tories to face their verdict.
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