4 ms·

He is a fool who pretends to be playing one. The upper echelons of the conservative party are not at all meritocratic - you do not have to be whip smart to get

He is a fool who pretends to be playing one. The upper echelons of the conservative party are not at all meritocratic - you do not have to be whip smart to get there, but being personable counts. He's made enough self inflicted strategic blunders. Nonetheless he holds a certain appeal for the upper classes in the UK. I don't think his appeal translates down to people who work for a living though.

growlist 7y ago
Say what you like about Boris, but there is good evidence he's not stupid as lots of people would like to believe: 'Johnson excelled in English and Classics, winning prizes in both, and became secretary of the school debating society, and editor of the school newspaper, The Eton College Chronicle' Also I think the whole upper class/working class dichotomy you present is kind of old hat these days (and somewhat patronising to the people you cite that 'work for a living' - whose viewpoints and aspirations are generally somewhat beyond merely hoping for an indoor toilet), often pushed by the left as an electoral tactic against the right (even in spite of the fact that all UK political parties are stuffed full of ex-Oxbridge types). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Johnson#Eton_and_Oxford:_1977%E2%80%931987 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Johnson#Eton_and_Oxford:...
Nexxxeh 7y ago
Whip smart is an ironic choice of words, in the context of political parties. Unfortunately his appeal does translate down. Even to those for whom his proposed tax cut will be detrimental. The Mail readers, the people who have been convinced that EU migration has stolen their jobs, the people who want to be in the £50k bracket... And those who are fed up with political spin and disillusioned with politics, the Brexit voters. They have been led to believe Boris is the answer, whereas he's arguably just the cliff we'll be jumping off of.

growlist 7y ago

Say what you like about Boris, but there is good evidence he's not stupid as lots of people would like to believe: 'Johnson excelled in English and Classics, winning prizes in both, and became secretary of the school debating society, and editor of the school newspaper, The Eton College Chronicle' Also I think the whole upper class/working class dichotomy you present is kind of old hat these days (and somewhat patronising to the people you cite that 'work for a living' - whose viewpoints and aspirations are generally somewhat beyond merely hoping for an indoor toilet), often pushed by the left as an electoral tactic against the right (even in spite of the fact that all UK political parties are stuffed full of ex-Oxbridge types). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Johnson#Eton_and_Oxford:_1977%E2%80%931987 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Johnson#Eton_and_Oxford:...

Nexxxeh 7y ago

Whip smart is an ironic choice of words, in the context of political parties. Unfortunately his appeal does translate down. Even to those for whom his proposed tax cut will be detrimental. The Mail readers, the people who have been convinced that EU migration has stolen their jobs, the people who want to be in the £50k bracket... And those who are fed up with political spin and disillusioned with politics, the Brexit voters. They have been led to believe Boris is the answer, whereas he's arguably just the cliff we'll be jumping off of.