This week has seen the continually bizarre spectacle of the Tory leadership contest grind on. Earlier this week Sajid Javid pitched himself as the candidate best placed to ‘make a better Boris’, reflecting the strange reality of a contest in which only one of the candidates really believes they can win.
But who is Boris Johnson, really? The man who looks almost certain to be our next prime minister seems to divide opinion like no one else in British politics. Is he a charismatic man of the people, or a phoney demagogue? A progressive liberal or a Brexit extremist covering for the far right? In this week’s magazine, Toby Young argues that Boris’ opponents are so blinded by their dislike of him, they’ve completely lost sight of who he actually is. He talks to Stephen Bush, Political Editor of the New Statesman, to discuss Johnson’s character, as well as the shape of his forthcoming premiership.
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