Boris Johnson

trisher said: "I have no objection to Boris placing restrictions on his staff in working time if he agrees that the same rules should apply to all organisations but he doesn't".

Evidence, please. You may well be right but you can't make a statement like that about someone and not back it up.

Of course he has a political agenda; he's a politician! Jeremy Corbyn has a political agenda too. I'd be worried if he didn't! All politicians have political agendas, even the ones with agendas one likes.

Evidence is in what he said about the sacking of BCC bloke thatbags read what I posted previously. He thinks the establishment shouldn't gag people who want to speak out about leaving the EU but he is quite prepared to apply similar restrictions to his own staff. So it is the people speaking in favour of the EU he wants to be kept quiet. As I said before he didn't need to comment about the sacking he chose to.

I think there is some confusion here. It's not a clear cut picture.

Firstly, Boris has not gagged anyone.

Secondly, Longworth, the BCC chap, stepped down himself so that he could speak freely. It was reported, incorrectly, that he had been pushed. If Boris said what you say he said, thinking that the Tory administration had given Longworth the push, he was quite right: the Establishment should not gag people who are not part of it. Perhaps Boris thought Longworth had been pushed because of the reported "quiet word" from Downing Street. But from what I've read, that never in fact happened but if it did happen then Boris is right: it shouldn't have.

Longworth is not part of the government and should be able to say what he wants. It certainly would have been wrong of the Tory administration to try and stop him from speaking his thoughts on the EU referendum.

I,m getting the feeling, as I often do on political threads, that people are allowing their feelings about a person (in this case, Boris Johnson) to influence their thinking, e.g. that if they don't like him then he has to be in the wrong about everything.

I neither like nor dislike Boris Johnson. He has hardly, until the referendum raised its head, made any impact on me at all. I have had nothing to do with him or his political party so why would I waste brain space disliking him when I can just ignore him?

He has, recently, said some things that resonate with my way of thinking about democracy in the EU (as have people in other political parties) so, at the moment I'm listening to what he has to say on that topic. When the referendum is over I'll probably switch off from him again, along with a whole host of other EU referendum commentators.

Hmm, the confusion thickens.
Apparently, Bernard Jenkin, who is Tory chairman of the public administration and constitutional affairs committee, has asked for all emails and phone calls to Longworth be released.

Meanwhile, Boris has said that his staff had "complete freedom to say what they want" about the EU referendum (that they already have and he's fine with that) and that the email asking them not to was a cock-up he knew nothing about.

He isn't my favourite person, but his bumbling, carefree attitude makes me smile sometimes, other times I just think shut up, but I do like people who say what they think and not say what is expected of them. Just because you support a political party, you can't agree with every comment that comes out of their mouths. Don't go along with a lot of what David Cameron is saying about the rererendum at the moment, but I would still vote for him, because I do think he has the countries interest at heart, same with Boris, he has made his decision that is not the opinion of his friend and leader, but he said what he thinks is right.

I think Boris's performance on this campaign to date has been feeble. On the Marr show (still available for view I'm sure) he talked a lot, repeating himself, in the attempt to stop Marr asking him awkward questions. He came across as someone who had not bothered to research issues like what would happen if UK voted Out, the negotiation of trade deals etc. Relying on his gift of the gab and nothing much else.

I have carried on reading this thread even though I havn't contributed for a while.
I was just coming on to say, yes! Luckylegs9 post is what I havn't been able to work out to date. Part of the reason I like him is because he says what he thinks and and not what is expected of him. And also, rightly or wrongly, I do think he has the country's interest at heart.

But then I read JessM's contribution and I agree. I too think his performance to date has been rather feeble and lacking in research.

rightly or wrongly - I mean that Luckylegs is probably right on that.

My worries about democracy in the EU are not affected by anyone's "performance" on this issue. I'm focussing on democracy, not the people who are arguing about whether to stay in or leave the EU.

Playing the ball not the man/men , of whom Boris is only one of many.

This is the Boris thread, not the In/Out referendum thread.

Given that Boris is a prominent figure on one of the sides of the EU ref debate, and given that his "performance" in that debate was mentioned, a little overlap can be accommodated, I think.

Indeed Bags - it would be very weird if, given the fact that Mr Ambitious has thrown his hat into the ring of the only show in town, we were not allowed to mention it on this thread.
But while some of us debate this thorny issue..

Dear members, please feel free to carry on discussing:
Boris the cyclist
Boris the baby/Churchill-faced lover of womankind
Boris the class clown
Boris the silver tongued wordsmith
etc

I'll kick off with his hair:
Is his hair sometimes deliberately ruffled before facing he cameras? Or is it that nightmare for the hair - the cycling helmet - that's to blame? Did he have his hair deliberately almost-tidied for the Marr Show? What hair products does he use?

I have read that his hair was deliberately ruffled.
His hair now seems to have been cut quite a bit shorter. Perhaps he now wants to appear more serious?
Couldnt tell you about his hair products!

jess, did I mention things being not allowed? Or did I just say what I think?

If Boris's appearance and performance affect others, so be it. I said they don't affect me—mainly because I don't look at him or listen to him directly but just, on occasions (rather few occasions) read about what he has said. I'm interested in the what rather than the who. And that's pretty much what I said.

As well as quoting what you, jess (and others), have said on at least one occasion about playing the ball not the man.

I don't care what he looks like. What I care about is what he says and does. He may be of no consequence to you thatbags but for me, as a Londoner, I look at his record as Mayor and in my view it is abysmal. It is widely felt that he has some ambition to become the Conservative leader and, should that occur, he will not be an irrelevance who you can ignore.

Please do not put words in my mouth, eloethan. Where have I said, or even implied that he is an irrelevance? To the contrary, I have said quite clearly that I'm listening to what he has to say about the EU referendum.

No, one won't be able to ignore him if he becomes leader of the Conservative Party, but since I can have zero influence on that there doesn't seem any point in worrying about it until it happens, if indeed it ever does.

I presume, jess and eloethan that you don't regard ambition as intrinsically bad and that, in someone you like or approve of, it would be allright?

Well, to be precise, I read what he had to say about it. I've also read what several other people, on both sides of the debate have to say. And I will continue to do that.

Thought I was agreeing with you Bags. Hence the "indeed". My attempt at humour obviously didn't work as far as you are concerned.

And the point about his ambition is that he hides it behind his clown-like act. And pretends that he is anti-EU when everyone in politics believes it to be a bid for the party leadership.
I don't mind ambition but hiding it behind a bumbling exterior does not appeal to me. Politics is serious business and affects the lives and welfare of millions at his level.

Whoops! Sorry. I did not get the humour.

Re Boris hiding his ambition, he doesn't seem to have convinced anyone that he's not ambitious for the Tory leadership so I'm not convinced he is hiding it. Why would he? Why should he?

I'm also not convinced he's a bumbler, maybe because I read what he says rather than looking at him.

Saying I'm not convinced he's a bumbler is a bit vague. From what little I have seen of and heard about him he strikes me as a hale-fellow-well-met type. I think that may be what people mean by his clownishness? I don't think it clownish or bumbling, just sort of 'large' and 'loud'. In short, he's a noticeable character, just as Jeremy Corbyn is, and Donald Trump! After all the nondescript party leaders we've had of late, perhaps this isn't a bad thing.

Can I ask why you dont look at people? Do you have a TV but rarely watch it? Genuine question.

I don't have a TV. I have seen photos of BJ in newspapers (well, on the fronts of some) and online.