RSS

Contact us

Saturday 22 November 2008

Boris is the kind of Tory I’d vote for: which means he can win

Boris is the kind of Tory I’d vote for: which means he can win

Rod Liddle urges his friend to stand for Mayor of London and demonstrate
what modern Conservatism can do — if you let it

I have yet to meet anyone in London who voted for Ken Livingstone — but then most of my London friends are from the (largely white) working class. Why on earth would they vote for him? And yet he is still in power, slowly grinding the traffic in the capital to a complete standstill, charging four quid for a single ticket on the Tube, imposing a St Patrick’s Day ‘Semtex ’n’ transubstantiation’ parade on us all, inviting Muslim clerics who wish we would all die to address the nation, and prone to divesting himself of gobbets of pure, unrefined anti-Semitism whenever his policies are questioned. Is there a more obnoxious politician in the country than Ken? Or one more ludicrous? Why do people like him? Is it simply that he annoys, or annoyed, Tony Blair?

So, anyway, now there’s another chance for lefties like me to vote Conservative once again, with the news that Boris Johnson may run for mayor of London. I would have voted for Steve Norris before — a hugely likeable man — but without much expectation of success, given Norris’s comparatively low profile. Boris, though, could just about do it — and provide an electoral fillip to the Conservative party in the process without frightening too many sedate Tory horses grazing in the shires. Look, this is what modern Conservatism can do, if you let it — a form of enlightened and compassionate libertarianism. An administration informed by the green movement rather than hijacked by it. A respect and tolerance for those who wish to partake of such profoundly anti-social vices as driving or smoking; a quick memo scribbled to the Metropolitan Police on day one that burglaries and street crime should be where the substance of their money is spent; a St George’s Day parade with all creeds and colours urged to take part; a rapid repairing of the fences with our Jewish community.

I ought to declare an interest, I suppose. I’ve liked Boris Johnson since long before I began working for him in 2002, when he was, of course, the editor of this magazine. He always seemed a natural ally, despite his location on the political compass some 90 degrees to the right of my own. I can remember the two of us chatting together at some media party in Islington when, swathed in self-love and self-regard, Alastair Campbell manifested himself before us and, jabbing his finger at Boris, barked: ‘You’ve got to decide what you want to be. A politician or a journalist.’ And then he looked at me, with more contempt: ‘And as for you, a journalist or a f***ing troublemaker.’ Boris and I agreed later that in each instance we’d rather prefer to be both. It has to be said, though, that the brief of higher education, important though it might be, is a waste of his talents. Boris has it all; he is that rare thing, a politician who is actively liked, rather than merely tolerated or, more likely, loathed, by the general public — who see in him, much as I did, plenty of grounds for a cross-party alliance.

More articles from: Rod Liddle | this section

Print this article  |  Email to a friend  |  Permalink  |   Comment

Post this entry to:   del.icio.us | Digg | Newsvine | NowPublic | Reddit

Advertisement

Spectator Business | Apollo Magazine

Corporate | Advertising | Privacy | Terms

Spectator, 22 Old Queen Street, London, SW1H 9HP

All Articles and Content Copyright ©2008 by The Spectator | All Rights Reserved