Boris Johnson’s bridge over troubled waters

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Why is Boris Johnson quite so keen on improbable-sounding bridges? The Foreign Secretary became obsessed with the idea of a ‘garden bridge’ across the river Thames when he was Mayor, a project that was cancelled by his successor Sadiq Khan after it became clear that public money would be needed to build the structure, which would then not always be open to the public. Unabashed, Boris is now suggesting something much bigger and more eye-catching: a bridge across the Channel to France.

Johnson was talking about major infrastructure projects when he suggested the bridge, which is apparently technically possible. But it is being treated as politically laughable, with Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry claiming she thought Boris was having us on when he made the suggestion, and Home Secretary Amber Rudd telling reporters that ‘I think I’m safe saying that I am not a huge fan of this latest proposal’.