After ‘getting Brexit done’, what next for Rishi Sunak?

Sunak’s role isn’t only to find the answers, it is also to come up with the questions, writes Marie Le Conte

The Northern Ireland protocol has been a thorn in the country’s side for years now (PA)

It is odd to think that there is a world in which Theresa May could have been remembered as the great Brexit prime minister; the woman who took us out of the European Union for good. Had she won even one of her roughly 87 votes in parliament, she could have earned her place in history, forever remembered as the leader who ushered in the end of an era and the beginning of a new one.

It is amusing to think that Boris Johnson very nearly got there – very nearly Got Brexit Done – but in the end he couldn’t quite manage it. Johnson arguably has many qualities, but attention to detail is not one of them. He gave his party the majority it desperately needed, but still, some loose ends remained by the time he left No 10.

As for Liz Truss... well. Her premiership lasted for about as long as this sentence. There’s no need to dwell. The point is, it is now Rishi Sunak’s turn to be in the spotlight. To quote from Hamilton – a sin in 2023, I know, I know – history has its eyes on him. At the time of writing, he is on the cusp of doing what three prime ministers failed to do before him: actually finalising the Brexit deal.