Kirsty Strickland: Can the PM leave his role without kicking and screaming?

There was perhaps a small – stupid – part of me that thought Boris Johnson might recognise the significance of the moment and not be so, well … Boris about it.

If you tuned in as I did then you will know such hopes were futile.

He was as arrogant and narcissistic as ever; throwing out insults at his opponents and refusing to utter one single word of apology for the damage his brief, inglorious tenure has had on the UK.

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His swipes at Keir Starmer were as puerile and nonsensical as you’d expect.

He described the Labour leader as “one of those pointless plastic bollards you find around deserted roadworks on the motorway”.

From bollard to blowhard, Boris Johnson declared that it was “mission accomplished, for now” – much to the bemusement of everybody watching.

You have to wonder what Boris Johnson’s actual mission was. It couldn’t have been something so vanilla as competent leadership.

Maybe it was to devalue the office of prime minister so severely that when his final words from the despatch box were “Hasta la vista, baby” it barely raised an eyebrow.

Ahead of his final appearance at PMQs, Johnson loyalists were urging their colleagues to give the prime minister a standing ovation when the question and answer session was complete.

It’s all just so tragic, isn’t it?

Leaving aside the fact that most departing prime ministers don’t need to canvass for the traditional send-off ahead of their last appearance, it’s yet another reminder of how fragile Boris Johnson’s ego is.

Parents cheer the clumsy first steps of their children and marvel at their scribbled art work. They applaud the effort just as much as the outcome.

That’s normal. But despite his apparent inability to dress himself properly or speak in coherent sentences, Boris Johnson isn’t a toddler. He’s a grown man, who – for the next seven weeks at least – is the prime minister.

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The phony outrage we saw when the opposition benches refused to join in the ego trip at the end of PMQs was daft to the point of insanity.

Right-wing commentators and Tory MPs alike were united in furious condemnation of opposition MPs for their bad manners in refusing to stand and cheer the mad king.

It’s been a common theme over recent months.

Civility in politics is admirable: delusion is not.

The idea that Ian Blackford or Keir Starmer would stand and applaud the lying, lawbreaking Boris Johnson is patently ridiculous.

Some Tory MPs seem to genuinely believe that Boris Johnson is entitled to throw jabs at his opponents (deploying often deeply personal insults like when he repeatedly mocked Ian Blackford’s weight) but when they don’t whoop and clap for him then they have gone too far.

Was it not only a few weeks ago that the Speaker told the chamber “you ought to be ashamed for clapping” when MPs applauded a Conservative MP who spoke out against Boris Johnson?

Now we’re being told that the decent and honourable thing to do is to applaud somebody who did so much damage to standards in public life.

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Yes, there have been many other occasions when both sides of the House showed their respect for an outgoing prime minister by cheering them out at the end of their final PMQs.

That act of unity relies on the idea that – despite political differences – a prime minister has worked hard on behalf of the country.

Politicians will disagree on the policies and priorities of a prime minister but to have a base level of respect for the job they’ve done, they have to believe that they acted with the country’s best interests at heart.

Boris Johnson has been a catastrophe from the moment he stepped foot in No 10.

He appointed a cabinet of idiots and sycophants – showing that he cared more about personal loyalty that competent governance.

He won’t be remembered for “getting Brexit done”, he’ll be remembered for the cronyism, the cover-ups, the scandals and all the lies.

He’ll be remembered for being so uniquely unsuitable for any position of leadership that he managed to single-handedly squander an 80-seat majority and lose the confidence of his colleagues.

His self-indulgent farewell tour of the last few weeks has shown how little he truly cares about the responsibilities of high office.

As fires burn in England and inflation reaches a 40-year high, it’s clear the prime minister has already clocked off.

Ordinary people are suffering but, hey, at least Boris got a shot at flying a fancy plane.

He’s not a child, he’s the Prime Minister. So he doesn’t get applause for the bare minimum.

He doesn’t get a pat on the back for participating and he doesn’t get concessions for his inexcusable behaviour just because he’s handed in his notice.

Conservative MPs might be willing to forgive and forget – but we’re not.