When it comes to the Johnson government, ministers weren’t always judged to have done things by the book. But Mr S has done some digging and it turns out that the former PM did his bit to restore one of the lesser-known No. 10 traditions. In 1931, Ramsay MacDonald began the practice of incumbent and departing ministers being asked to donate a book to the Prime Minister’s library. The collection lines the walls of the cabinet room, offering inspiration to the ministers sat around the table there.
In recent years though, the practice had fallen into abeyance. However Johnson was an enthusiast for the scheme and encouraged his ministers to resurrect the practice. Following a Freedom of Information request, Steerpike has now discovered that 17 books have now been added to the library since 2021. Among them includes Johnson’s sole donation: ‘The Churchill Factor: How one made history’ written by one, er, Boris Johnson.
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