Boris, BoJo, The Blonde Bombshell- how many UK Politicians can lay claim to the name and facial recognition held by Boris Johnson? Twice married with 5 Children, an old Etonian and an Oxford graduate where he was a member of the notorious Bullingdon Club alongside David Cameron and George Osborne.
Throughout his time in Parliament he was a fierce rival of both his peers and took a prominent public view in the Vote Leave campaign with many suggesting he played a pivotal role in helping the vote swing towards Leave.
In the first round of ballots Boris Johnson has secured the highest number of votes to select the Conservative party leader and next prime minister.
Three contenders – Mark Harper, Andrea Leadsom and Esther McVey – have been knocked out with Johnson receiving 114 votes while Jeremy Hunt was second with 43, and Michael Gove third with 37 votes.
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Seven candidates progress to the next round of voting next week. The two most popular MPs will be put to Tory party members in a final vote later this month. The winner of the contest to succeed Theresa May is expected to be announced in the week of 22 July.
He has always coveted the top job but who really is Boris Johnson and what can we expect from his Premiership? The EU press are already referring to him as a ‘European Trump’ while others question his work-rate and ability to build close relationships. Amongst brexiteers such as Jacob Rees Mogg and Iain Duncan Smith they are of the opinion that finally they have their man ready to assume power.
According to his Wikipedia entry:
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964), better known as Boris Johnson, is a British politician, journalist and popular historian who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Uxbridge and South Ruislipsince 2015, having been the MP for Henley from 2001 to 2008. He was Mayor of London from 2008 to 2016, and from 2016 to 2018 he served as Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. A member of the Conservative Party, Johnson identifies as a one-nation conservative and has been associated with both economically and socially liberal policies.
Born in New York to wealthy upper-middle class English parents, Johnson was educated at the European School of Brussels, Ashdown House, and Eton College. He read Classics at Balliol College, Oxford, where he was elected President of the Oxford Union in 1986. He began his career in journalism at The Times but was sacked for falsifying a quotation. He later became The Daily Telegraph‘s Brussels correspondent, with his articles exerting a strong influence on growing Eurosceptic sentiment among the British right-wing. He was assistant editor from 1994 to 1999 before taking the editorship of The Spectator from 1999 to 2005. Joining the Conservatives, he was elected MP for Henley in 2001, and under leaders Michael Howard and David Cameron served in the Shadow Cabinet. He largely adhered to the Conservatives’ party line but adopted a more socially liberal stance on issues like LGBT rights in parliamentary votes. Making television appearances, writing books, and remaining active in journalism, Johnson became one of the most conspicuous British politicians.
Selected as Conservative candidate for the 2008 London mayoral election, Johnson defeated Labour incumbent Ken Livingstone and resigned his seat in the House of Commons. During his first term as Mayor of London, he banned alcohol consumption on much of the capital’s public transport, championed London’s financial sector, and introduced the New Routemaster buses, cycle hire scheme, and Thames cable car. In 2012, he was re-elected to the office, again defeating Livingstone; during his second term he oversaw the 2012 Summer Olympics. In 2015 he was elected MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, stepping down as Mayor the following year. In 2016, Johnson became a prominent figure in the successful Vote Leave campaign to withdraw the United Kingdom from the European Union. He was appointed Foreign Secretary by Theresa May, but resigned in criticism of May’s approach to Brexit and the Chequers Agreement two years later. Johnson is a candidate for Leader of the Conservative Party in the 2019 leadership contest.
Johnson is a controversial figure in British politics and journalism. Supporters have praised him as an entertaining, humorous, and popular figure with appeal beyond traditional Conservative voters. Conversely, he has been criticised by figures on both the left and right, who accused him of elitism, cronyism, dishonesty, laziness, and using racist and homophobic language. Johnson is the subject of several biographies and a number of fictionalised portrayals.
Boris launched his leadership campaign with a warning the Tories will face “mortal retribution” if the UK doesn’t leave the EU by 31 October.
The front-runner to become the next Prime Minister has been accused by rivals of “hiding in a bunker” because he has only faced media questions once this year, and took just six questions from reporters.
Mr Johnson said he “cannot swear that I have always observed a top speed limit, in this country, of 70mph” when asked whether he had ever done anything illegal
Sky News political editor Beth Rigby was booed and jeered by backers of Boris, including some senior MPs in the audience, as she asked about a newspaper column in which he wrote that “it is absolutely ridiculous that people should choose to go around looking like letter boxes.”
Boris replied to this:
But, nonetheless, I want to make a general point, you have asked a fair question Beth, and a good question and I want to make a general point about the way I do things and the language I use.
Of course, occasionally some plaster comes off the ceiling as a result of phrase I may have used, or indeed, as a result of the way that phrase has been wrenched out of context and interpreted by those who wish, for reasons of their own, to caricature my views.
But, I think it is vital that we as politicians remember that one of the reasons why the public feels alienated now from us all as a breed is because too often they feel we are muffling or veiling our language if I might put it that way.
Not speaking as we find, covering everything up in bureaucratic platitudes. What they want to hear is what we genuinely think
There is the theory among many that Boris can reach a wider voting demographic that no one else can reach but renowned political psephologist Mike Smithson differs with this assessment:
One of the apparent great selling points for Johnson to his party is that somehow he has a means of reaching voters that other Tories do not have. Therefore, his supporters argue, he is the man to take the party forward at a general election.
Well looking at what happened at the last election in his West London constituency of Uxbridge there is nothing to back this up. Even bearing in mind that the Conservatives did poorly in the capital in 2017 compared with elsewhere Johnson did worse than the average CON to LAB swing of 6.2% in the capital.
Just looking at the result in Uxbridge you would have thought that the largish UKIP vote from the election before would have got behind Johnson who was, after all, the leader of the Leave campaign. The numbers suggest that that didn’t happen.
The turnout level in Johnson’s constituency was also lower than the London average of 70.1%.
The main case that somehow Johnson has some amazing ability is largely based on his 2008 and 2012 London mayoral campaigns when he did indeed win the Crown twice. But we should also remember that the margins were pretty close and of course his opponent was Ken Livingstone who by 2012 was not the electoral magnet that he had been.
Meanwhile his girlfriend and former top Tory spin doctor Carrie Symonds has been thrust into the spotlight after his marriage broke up and he is now with Ms Symonds despite a significant age gap. During his career Boris has had numerous affairs and has been accused of lacking morals in his marriage.
The communications and PR chief quit working for Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ) earlier this year.
As reported by The Daily Mail, 31-year-old Miss Symonds is a fitness buff. Indeed, Miss Symonds’ Twitter page is covered in environmental messages and she has seemingly transmitted a more modern outlook on to the Tory leadership candidate. Mr Johnson’s love of meat has made the news in the past, he once said he enjoyed “late night binges of chorizo and cheese” and refused to quit meat after the UN said it would help prevent climate change.
A friend told the Mail he has gone more or less vegetarian and has increased drive due to the changes in his diet: “He isn’t as tired or grumpy and gets much more done.”
He reportedly even dabbled in veganism but lasted three days as he couldn’t bear to go without cheese. The former Foreign Secretary reportedly lost 12lb in a fortnight after cutting down on meat, eggs and dairy.
Mr Johnson used to boast about how he drank “at least a bottle of wine a day” but he’s now down to one glass according to reports.
Withn the Tory Party there is a significant campaign to stop the slimmed down and focused Johnson that is being led by Rory Stewart. Stewart has been somewhat of a social media sensation with his quirky videos. He does however represent the liberal wing of the Tory Party and is not popular amongst the grassroots.
Eton-educated Stewart, claimed that anybody who tried to ignore the will of parliament doesn’t deserve to hold the highest position in office in a dig at Boris and other Brexiteers who are hinting that they may suspend Parliament in order to get a no-deal through.
Stewart said:
Somebody who attempted to subvert our constitution, our liberties, our parliament… who dared to stand as prime minister and claim they could lock the doors on parliament would not deserve to be prime minister.
Stewart, who has caught the imagination of the liberal media with his inclusive speeches staged in public spaces, scraped through the first round with 19 votes. Stewart received a boost, before Tory MPs cast their votes, when Conservative Home – the Tory grassroots website – revealed that he was now members’ second favourite for the top job.
Conclusions-
Books have and will be written about Boris in years to come and we have only touched the surface. Boris is a flawed but talented individual. The fact the media are against him is nowadays a sign that he is someone worth backing.
Barring a disaster he will be the next Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. He has the chance to deliver a full and clean Brexit and go down in history. If he doesn’t it will not only be the end of his political career but the end of the Conservative Party. The stakes in the political race have never been higher.
Lead Correspondent | David Clews is the Lead Correspondent for UNN, with over 20 years of political/campaigning experience and a wealth of social media and communication skills David gets to the heart of what is really important to the real people of the UK.
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