Boris johnson

Wednesday

James Forsyth

Jeremy Hunt’s big risk

Jeremy Hunt’s refusal to take the job of Defence Secretary means that for the first time since 2001, the runner up in the Tory leadership contest won’t serve on the winner’s front bench. Hunt’s decision not to take the job of Defence Secretary is not without risk for him. Many Tory members and MPs regard it as one of the best jobs in government so deciding that it is essentially beneath him won’t go down well with everyone. The first half of this reshuffle has been brutal, 17 departures from the Cabinet—11 forced. This is a dangerous strategy given that the government’s working majority in combination with the DUP is

James Kirkup James Kirkup

Can the Tory party survive Prime Minister Boris Johnson?

Some thoughts on the arrival in office of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, based on his first speech, his first appointments and some conversations with people in different parts of the Conservative party and Whitehall today.  These are not all my own predictions; some belong to others. But they’re under my name, so I’ll be happy to answer for them when – and if – they’re proven wrong: 1. A no-deal exit from the EU is much more likely than financial markets currently imply, and much more likely to become the de facto object of UK government policy Johnson’s speech gave him very, very little room for manoeuvre over Brexit. As

The Spectator

Watch: Boris Johnson’s first speech as Prime Minister

Boris Johnson has just delivered his first speech as Prime Minister. On the steps of No.10 Downing Street, Boris hit out at ‘doubters…doomsters (and) gloomsters’ as he pledged to take Britain out of the EU by October 31, ‘no ifs no buts’. ‘The buck stops with me,’ he said. Here is the full video: And here is the full text of Boris’s speech: Good afternoon. I have just been to see Her Majesty the Queen who has invited me to form a government and I have accepted. I pay tribute to the fortitude and patience of my predecessor and her deep sense of public service but in spite of all

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

‘Never mind the backstop, the buck stops here’: Boris launches his premiership with domestic focus

Boris Johnson has just given a rather urgent-sounding, fast-paced speech in Downing Street. So fast-paced, in fact, that it almost appeared he was in a hurry to catch a train. He of course promised to deliver Brexit by 31 October, but the bulk of his statement was in fact focused on what he wanted to do on domestic policy. He did so using typically tangible promises, telling voters that ‘my job is to make your street safer’, that ‘my job is to make sure that you don’t have to wait three weeks to see your GP’ and ‘my job is to make sure your kids get a superb education’. He

The Spectator

Full text: Theresa May’s final speech as Prime Minister

I am about to go to Buckingham Palace to tender my resignation to Her Majesty the Queen and to advise her to ask Boris Johnson to form a new administration. I repeat my warm congratulations to Boris on winning the Conservative leadership election. I wish him and the Government he will lead every good fortune in the months and years ahead. Their successes will be our country’s successes, and I hope that they will be many. Their achievements will build on the work of nearly a decade of Conservative or Conservative-led government. During that time our economy has been restored, our public services reformed, and our values defended on the

Lloyd Evans Lloyd Evans

Meet the Tories who think Theresa May is Britain’s greatest PM

Forget Churchill. Never mind the Iron Duke. Ignore the claims of Pitt the Younger. The greatest prime minister in British history is Theresa May. That was the message from PMQs today. Tory after Tory stood up to heap praise on their departing chief. Wages are up. Homelessness is falling. Employment is on the rise, thanks to her brilliant captaincy of the nation. We heard about honour, duty, courtesy and public service. It seems that she carried each of these virtues to a pitch that no successor can surpass. ‘Fantastic’ was the only word to describe her policies on mental health. Her domestic violence agenda, we were told, will be an

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Theresa May leaves Downing Street with best wishes for Boris

Theresa May’s final statement in Downing Street before she left for Buckingham Palace was very dignified and generous to her successor. She offered her ‘warm congratulations’ to Boris Johnson and wished him ‘every good fortune in the months and years ahead’. As with her performance at Prime Minister’s Questions, May was keen to emphasise her commitment to continuing in public service, saying: ‘I am about to leave Downing Street but I am proud to continue as the Member of Parliament for Maidenhead. I will continue to do all I can to serve the national interest.’ It was not an emotional statement, nor was it one in which May really sought

Steerpike Steerpike

Watch: Labour frontbench spoil the party at May’s final PMQs

Theresa May’s time at Parliament’s despatch box is up. The Prime Minister has just faced her final session of PMQs, finishing off by telling MPs the ‘duty’ to ‘serve my constituents will remain my greatest motivation’. Here is the video of the moment she said goodbye: Most MPs stood up and applauded the PM as she left the chamber. But Labour’s frontbench stayed firmly in their seats. This marks something of a change from the norm. After all, when Tony Blair said goodbye, Tory MPs joined in the standing ovation… And when David Cameron stepped down, Labour MPs still managed a round of applause. This time around, there was stony

Tuesday

Daniel DePetris

Americans are watching Boris Johnson with a morbid interest

Donald Trump didn’t take long to congratulate Boris Johnson on his victory in today’s Tory leadership race. ‘He will be great!’ was Trump’s snap verdict on a man who he described at a rally this afternoon as a ‘really good man’. It’s safe to say Boris has a fan, at least for the time being, in the White House. But what about the rest of America? Boris is, of course, a well-known commodity in Britain; you either think the guy is a brilliant political mastermind with a people’s touch or a dolt who should be nowhere near Downing Street. Across the pond, it’s a little different. In Washington, D.C., there is

Joolz Gale

Could Boris charm the EU in Brexit negotiations?

The penny has finally dropped here in Berlin. After the Brexit party’s success in the European elections – and several missed Brexit deadlines later – most Germans are slowly realising that Brexit will happen. There are some who still hope that the offer of a new Brexit extension – as Ursula von der Leyen has indicated might be on offer – could mean a second referendum, or revocation of Article 50. But fewer now believe either of those remain realistic possibilities. And with Boris Johnson likely to be in Downing Street by tomorrow, these options become harder still to imagine. One leader of the pro-EU movement here – who has been

James Kirkup James Kirkup

Get ready for Boris vs the Bank of England

Westminster is, naturally, fixated on Boris Johnson and his first speech since his Conservative leadership victory. But it’s just possible that the most interesting and important speech of the day took place in Scunthorpe. That’s where Andy Haldane, chief economist of the Bank of England was delivering a speech called ‘Climbing the Jobs Ladder’. His speech was, nominally, about wage progression and the quality of employment. But about halfway through, the speech becomes something very different, something that looks an awful lot like a warning to a new prime minister: don’t bank on the Bank to bail you out over Brexit. Haldane’s argument is that the major downside risks to

Robert Peston Robert Peston

Boris Johnson has achieved his dream. Will he mess it up?

When Boris Johnson chants his mantra of delivering Brexit, uniting the country and beating Jeremy Corbyn, it is very much a personal imperative. For the simple reason that if he fails, as many of his colleagues anticipate, he will look like a blithering idiot. The point is that back in the spring of 2016, he faced a nation-defining fork in the road, when he was dithering about whether to stick with the then PM David Cameron and fight to stay in the EU or lead the leave campaign. Cameron will believe till his last breath that Johnson’s defection to Brexit tipped the scales against him. And when Cameron lost, May

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Forget Brexit: Boris’s toughest task will be energising his exhausted party

Boris Johnson will now be receiving plenty of unsolicited advice about how to be Prime Minister. As his victory speech a few minutes ago showed, though, he’s not planning to ditch one of the qualities that got him into this job in the first place. Brand Boris isn’t about the typical prime ministerial behaviour, stood squarely behind a lectern and trying to offer gravitas. To try to squeeze Johnson into this mould would be about as successful as Gordon Brown’s attempts to look cheerful. That’s why his speech was based around the acronym ‘DUDE’ – Deliver Brexit, Unite our Country, Defeat Jeremy Corbyn and Energise. He told the hall: ‘I

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Boris Johnson’s risky strategy is to be himself

Boris Johnson is the new leader of the Conservative party. He has defeated Jeremy Hunt by a two to one margin, 66 to 34 per cent. This gives him a mandate and will boost his political authority—a boost that he desperately needs given how small his working majority will be, even in combination with the DUP. Boris Johnson’s speech was clearly a holding exercise, his team want to reserve their main messages for tomorrow when he actually becomes prime minister. It wouldn’t be a good look for him to be setting out his plans for the country to his Tory colleagues rather than the country as a whole. But perhaps

Damian Thompson Damian Thompson

Is Boris Johnson, baptised a Catholic, really a Christian?

In today’s Holy Smoke podcast, Harry Mount and I discuss the mysterious religious beliefs of the man who will be the first baptised Catholic to enter Number 10. Boris Johnson’s Catholic baptism – as a baby he was given the faith of his mother, Charlotte Fawcett – has received little publicity. Understandably, perhaps, because he was confirmed an Anglican at Eton, which makes him someone who chose to become an ex-Catholic (and, according to strict interpretations of the Magisterium, thereby placed an obstacle in the path of his salvation). My guest is Boris expert Harry Mount, who tells me that our new PM’s godmother is Lady Rachel Billington – daughter

Tom Goodenough Tom Goodenough

Boris Johnson wins the Tory leadership race

Boris Johnson will be Britain’s new prime minister after winning the Tory leadership race. Boris picked up 92,153 votes, or 66.4 per cent. His rival Jeremy Hunt won 46,656 votes, or 33.6 per cent. Turnout in the leadership race was 87.4 per cent. Boris Johnson paid tribute to Jeremy Hunt after his win was announced. He said Hunt had been ‘friendly’ and ‘goodnatured’ on the campaign trail. Boris also thanked Theresa May: ‘Above all, I want to thank our outgoing leader for her extraordinary service,’ he told an audience at the QEII centre. Donald Trump congratulated Boris on his election, saying that the new Tory leader ‘will be great’.

Monday

Isabel Hardman

Alan Duncan’s resignation just adds to the chaos in the Foreign Office

Sir Alan Duncan’s resignation will only leave a hole in the Foreign Office for a couple of days before the new prime minister replaces him. But he’s not the only missing minister in that department: Mark Field is suspended while the incident at Mansion House is investigated. Duncan had been covering some of Field’s responsibilities over the past few weeks, and now he is off too, just as the crisis in relations with Iran deepens. Jeremy Hunt, meanwhile, has been busy conducting a leadership campaign, all of which gives the Foreign Office, normally the most composed and regal part of Whitehall, a slightly chaotic, neglected feel. This may change mid-week

Lloyd Evans Lloyd Evans

Boris Johnson will soon be the most popular leader in the world

Only one person in Britain now believes that Boris might deprive us of a Jeremy Hunt premiership. That person is Jeremy Hunt. The rest of us expect the ‘Blonde Ambition’ project to reach fruition and for Boris to enter Number 10. This will come as no surprise to anyone who knows him. Nature always marked him out. Even as a first-year Balliol student, aged 18, he was weirdly conspicuous – the ruddy jowls, the stooped bullish stance, the booming Duke of Wellington voice, and the freakish white bob crowning his head like a heavenly spotlight. He was always one to watch. People say he can’t ‘do detail’. But nobody spends

Katy Balls Katy Balls

How much bother will the Gaukeward squad cause Boris Johnson?

How much bother will the Gaukeward squad cause Boris Johnson? Barring one of the biggest political upsets of the past three years, Boris Johnson will be announced on Tuesday as the new leader of the Conservative party – and the next prime minister. Talk has already turned to the problems (and defections) he could encounter in his own party in his first days in office. Philip Hammond set the tone on The Andrew Marr Show on Sunday when he took some pleasure in explaining he couldn’t be sacked by Johnson as Chancellor. The reason? He would resign first. It’s a common refrain amongst the anti-no deal Cabinet ministers. David Gauke

Saturday

James Forsyth

Which Brexit strategy will Boris Johnson go for?

Before he even gets in to Number 10, Boris Johnson must make one of the most important calls of his premiership. As I say in the Sun this morning, he must decide what his Brexit plan is. On Wednesday, calls with European leaders will begin—and Boris Johnson will have to know what he wants to tell them. As one of those preparing him for government puts it, ‘They’ll call him to say congratulations—and he’ll have to set out his stall’. This is crucial because the European Commission will refuse to negotiate with Boris’s government unless it is instructed to do so by the member states. Within the Johnson camp, there