James Kirkup James Kirkup

History won’t look kindly on Boris

And that's what will sting most

‘Them’s the breaks’. Those three words speak volumes about Boris Johnson’s ability, his character and his fears.

The words show Johnson retains the talents that made him a successful columnist. I know a lot of people don’t like this, but he was a good columnist, in the sense that he consistently said things that people were interested in hearing and talking about. Amid the eternal babble of the media, being able to find a phrase, a word, a sentence or a paragraph that captures attention and captures ideas – consistently – is no small skill.

‘Them’s the breaks’ is already doing exactly what its author intended. It’s becoming the headline on stories about Johnson’s departure from No. 10. It’s framing that departure, shaping the story.

That framing is doing a lot of quite complicated things, all of them quite deliberately intended. ‘Them’s the breaks’ says that Johnson’s departure is just one of those things, the sort of unfortunate turn of events that could happen to any of us. Oh well, these things happen. Mustn’t grumble. Triumph and disaster both the same, and so on.

There will no statues erected of Boris Johnson, and most of the books will record him as a failure

‘Them’s the breaks’ casts Boris Johnson as a batsman who went for a match-winning to drive the boundary but somehow edged the ball to second slip where it might even have touched the grass before being caught. Oh bad luck, old chap – good on you for trying.

‘Them’s the breaks’ leads us away from the fact that Johnson is out because he turned up late without his kit, ran out most of his batting partners, repeatedly refused to walk and told the umpire to do one.

Those three words also lead us to a certain idea of Johnson the man: a happy-go-lucky English bluffer who thought he’d have a crack at this governing lark but couldn’t quite make a go of it.

Already a subscriber? Log in

Keep reading with a free trial

Subscribe and get your first month of online and app access for free. After that it’s just £1 a week.

There’s no commitment, you can cancel any time.

Or

Unlock more articles

REGISTER

Comments

Don't miss out

Join the conversation with other Spectator readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.

Already a subscriber? Log in