A BLOND beast stalked David Cameron at the Conservatives’ party conference in Birmingham. Boris Johnson, the attention-loving London mayor, charmed and titillated the party faithful. Fringe event organisers reported that his appearance, entitled “Re-elected and Olymptastic” drew more attendees than the Friends of Russia vodka party and the perennially attractive “how to exit the EU” bash.
Free from the responsibilities and compromises of national coalition government, the mayor offered intoxicating, if improbable, hints of bringing back selective schools and slashing income taxes. Johnsonism is an own-brand product, only loosely affiliated with the Conservative Party. After he had delivered his umpteenth comment at odds with party policy, one senior cabinet minister coldly described the habit as “the Boris blurt”.
