Boris Johnson

Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (/ˈfɛfəl/;^[5] born 19 June 1964) is a British politician serving as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party and has been since 2019. He was Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs from 2016 to 2018 and Mayor of London from 2008 to 2016. Johnson has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Uxbridge and South Ruislip since 2015 and was previously MP for Henley from 2001 to 2008.

Johnson attended Eton College and read Classics at Balliol College, Oxford. He was elected President of the Oxford Union in 1986. In 1989, he became the Brussels correspondent, and later political columnist, for The Daily Telegraph, and was editor of The Spectator magazine from 1999 to 2005. After being elected to Parliament in 2001, Johnson was a shadow minister under Conservative leaders Michael Howard and David Cameron. In 2008, he was elected Mayor of London and resigned from the House of Commons; he was re-elected as mayor in 2012. In the 2015 election, Johnson was elected MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip. The following year, he did not seek re-election as mayor. He became a prominent figure in the successful Vote Leave campaign for Brexit in the 2016 European Union (EU) membership referendum. Theresa May appointed him foreign secretary after the referendum; he resigned the position two years later in protest at May’s approach to Brexit and the Chequers Agreement.

After May resigned in 2019, Johnson was elected Conservative leader and appointed prime minister. He re-opened Brexit negotiations and in early September controversially prorogued Parliament; the Supreme Court ruled the action unlawful later that month.^[b] After agreeing to a revised Brexit withdrawal agreement with the EU, which replaced the Irish backstop with a new Northern Ireland Protocol, but failing to win parliamentary support for the agreement, Johnson called a snap election for December 2019 in which he led the Conservative Party to victory with 43.6 per cent of the vote, and the party’s largest seat share since 1987. On 31 January 2020, the United Kingdom withdrew from the EU, entering into a transition period and trade negotiations leading to the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement. The COVID-19 pandemic became a major issue of his premiership; the government responded with various emergency powers, introduced measures across society to mitigate its impact, and approved the rollout of a nationwide vaccination programme. Johnson has been criticised for his slow response to the outbreak, including his resistance to introducing lockdown measures.

Johnson is considered a controversial figure in British politics.^[7][8] Supporters have praised him as humorous and entertaining,^[9] with an appeal stretching beyond traditional Conservative voters.^[10][11] Conversely, his critics have accused him of lying, elitism, cronyism, and bigotry.^[12][13][14] Commentators have described his political style as opportunistic, populist, or pragmatic.^[15][16][17]

Contents

• 1Early life
  • 1.1Childhood
  • 1.2Eton and Oxford: 1977–1987
• 2Early career
  • 2.1The Times and The Daily Telegraph: 1987–1994
  • 2.2Political columnist: 1994–1999
  • 2.3The Spectator and MP for Henley: 1999–2008
    • 2.3.1Becoming an MP
    • 2.3.2Second term
• 3Mayor of London
  • 3.1Mayoral election: 2007–2008
  • 3.2First term: 2008–2012
    • 3.2.1Policies
    • 3.2.2Relations with police, finance, and the media
    • 3.2.3Re-election campaign
  • 3.3Second term: 2012–2016
• 4Return to Parliament
  • 4.1Brexit campaign: 2015–2016
  • 4.2Foreign Secretary: 2016–2018
  • 4.3Return to the backbenches: 2018–2019
    • 4.3.1Journalism
    • 4.3.22019 Conservative Party leadership election
• 5Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
  • 5.1First term (July–December 2019)
    • 5.1.1Brexit policy
    • 5.1.2First Cabinet
    • 5.1.3Spending plans
    • 5.1.4Loss of working majority
    • 5.1.52019 general election
  • 5.2Second term (since December 2019)
    • 5.2.1Second Cabinet
    • 5.2.2COVID-19 pandemic
    • 5.2.3Departure of Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain
    • 5.2.4Legislative agenda
    • 5.2.52021 Downing Street refurbishment controversy
    • 5.2.62021 energy crisis
    • 5.2.7Owen Paterson controversy
    • 5.2.8Partygate controversy
    • 5.2.9Starmer slur controversy
  • 5.3Environmental policies
  • 5.4Foreign policy
    • 5.4.1Chagos dispute
    • 5.4.2Hong Kong and China
    • 5.4.3Afghanistan
    • 5.4.4UK–EU trade negotiation
    • 5.4.5Ukraine
• 6Electoral Performance for the House of Commons
  • 6.11997 general election, Clwyd South
  • 6.22001 general election, Henley
  • 6.32005 general election, Henley
  • 6.42015 general election, Uxbridge and South Ruislip
  • 6.52017 general election, Uxbridge and South Ruislip
  • 6.62019 general election, Uxbridge and South Ruislip
• 7Political positions and ideology
  • 7.1Environment
  • 7.2Immigration and the European Union
  • 7.3Unionism and devolution
• 8Public persona
• 9Personal life
  • 9.1Religion
  • 9.2Relationships
  • 9.3Family and ancestors
• 10Reception
  • 10.1Allegations of racism and Islamophobia
• 11Depictions
• 12Honours
• 13Bibliography
• 14See also
• 15References
  • 15.1Footnotes
  • 15.2Sources
• 16Notes
• 17Further reading
• 18External links

Early life

Childhood

Johnson was born on 19 June 1964 on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City,^[18][19] to 23-year-old Stanley Johnson, then studying economics at Columbia University,^[20] and 22-year-old Charlotte Fawcett,^[21] an artist from a family of liberal intellectuals. Johnson’s parents had married in 1963 before moving to the US.^[22] In September 1964, they returned to their native England, so that Charlotte could study at the University of Oxford;^[23] during this time, she lived with her son in Summertown, a suburb of Oxford, and in 1965 she gave birth to a daughter, Rachel.^[24] In July 1965, the family moved to Crouch End in north London,^[25] and in February 1966 they relocated to Washington, D.C., where Stanley had gained employment with the World Bank.^[26] Stanley then took a job with a policy panel on population control, and moved the family to Norwalk, Connecticut, in June.^[27] A third child, Leo, was born in September 1967.^[28]Ashdown House preparatory school, East Sussex, attended by Johnson from 1975 to 1977

In 1969, the family returned to England and settled into West Nethercote Farm, near Winsford in Somerset, Stanley’s remote family home on Exmoor in the West Country.^[29] There, Johnson gained his first experiences of fox hunting.^[30] His father was regularly absent from Nethercote, leaving Johnson to be raised largely by his mother, assisted by au pairs.^[31] As a child, Johnson was quiet and studious^[25] and suffered from deafness, resulting in several operations to insert grommets into his ears.^[32] He and his siblings were encouraged to engage in highbrow activities from a young age,^[33] with high achievement being greatly valued; Johnson’s earliest recorded ambition was to be “world king”.^[34] Having few or no friends other than their siblings, the children became very close.^[35]

In late 1969, the family moved to Maida Vale in West London, while Stanley began post-graduate research at the London School of Economics.^[36] In 1970, Charlotte and the children briefly returned to Nethercote, where Johnson attended Winsford Village School, before returning to London to settle in Primrose Hill,^[37] where they were educated at Primrose Hill Primary School.^[38] A fourth child and third son, Joseph, was born in late 1971.^[39]

After Stanley secured employment at the European Commission, he moved his family in April 1973 to Uccle, Brussels, where Johnson attended the European School, Brussels I and learnt to speak French.^[40][41] Charlotte suffered a nervous breakdown and was hospitalised with clinical depression, after which Johnson and his siblings were sent back to England in 1975 to attend Ashdown House, a preparatory boarding school in East Sussex.^[42] There, he developed a love of rugby and excelled at Ancient Greek and Latin,^[43] but the teachers’ use of corporal punishment appalled him.^[44] Meanwhile, in December 1978 his parents’ relationship broke down; they divorced in 1980,^[45] and Charlotte moved into a flat in Notting Hill, West London, where her children joined her for much of their time.^[46]

Eton and Oxford: 1977–1987

“As a kid I was extremely spotty, extremely nerdy and horribly swotty. My idea of a really good time was to travel across London on the tube to visit the British Museum”.

—Boris Johnson^[47]

Johnson gained a King’s Scholarship to study at Eton College, a boarding school near Windsor in Berkshire.^[48] Arriving in the autumn term of 1977,^[49] he began using his middle name Boris rather than his first name Alexander,^[50] and developed “the eccentric English persona” for which he became famous.^[51] He abandoned his mother’s Catholicism and became an Anglican, joining the Church of England.^[52] School reports complained about his idleness, complacency and lateness,^[53] but he was popular and well known at Eton.^[51] His friends were largely from the wealthy upper-middle and upper classes, his best friends then being Darius Guppy and Charles Spencer, both of whom later accompanied him to the University of Oxford and remained friends into adulthood.^[54] Johnson excelled in English and the Classics, winning prizes in both,^[55] and became secretary of the school debating society,^[56] and editor of the school newspaper, The Eton College Chronicle.^[57] In late 1981, he was elected a member of Pop,^[58] the small, self-selecting elite and glamorous group of prefects. Later in Johnson’s career it was a point of rivalry with David Cameron, who had failed to enter Pop. On leaving Eton, Johnson went on a gap year to Australia, where he taught English and Latin at Timbertop, an Outward Bound-inspired campus of Geelong Grammar, an elite independent boarding school.^[59][60][61]Johnson read Classics at Balliol College, Oxford.

Johnson won a scholarship to read Literae Humaniores at Balliol College, Oxford, a four-year course in the study of the Classics, ancient literature and classical philosophy.^[62] Matriculating at the university in late 1983,^[63] he was one of a generation of Oxford undergraduates who were later to dominate British politics and media in the second decade of the 21st century; among them David Cameron, William Hague, Michael Gove, Jeremy Hunt and Nick Boles all went on to become senior Conservative Party politicians.^[64] To his later regret, he joined the Old Etonian-dominated Bullingdon Club, an exclusive drinking society notorious for acts of vandalism on host premises.^[65][66][67] Many years later, a group photograph including himself and Cameron in Bullingdon Club formal dress led to much negative press coverage. He began a relationship with Allegra Mostyn-Owen, cover girl for Tatler magazine and daughter of Christie’s Education chairman William Mostyn-Owen. She was a glamorous and popular fellow student from his own social background; they became engaged while at university.^[68]

Johnson was popular and well known at Oxford.^[69] Alongside Guppy, he co-edited the university’s satirical magazine Tributary.^[70] In 1984, Johnson was elected secretary of the Oxford Union,^[71] and campaigned unsuccessfully for the career-enhancing and important position of Union President.^[72] In 1986, Johnson ran successfully for president,^[73] but his term was not particularly distinguished or memorable^[74] and questions were raised regarding his competence and seriousness.^[75] Finally, Johnson was awarded an upper second-class degree,^[76][77] and was deeply unhappy he did not receive a first.^[78]

Early career

The Times and The Daily Telegraph: 1987–1994

“I saw the whole [European Union] change. It was a wonderful time to be there. The Berlin Wall fell and the French and Germans had to decide how they were going to respond to this event, and what was Europe going to become, and there was this fantastic pressure to create a single polity, to create an answer to the historic German problem, and this produced the most fantastic strains in the Conservative Party, so everything I wrote from Brussels, I found was sort of chucking these rocks over the garden wall and I listened to this amazing crash from the greenhouse next door over in England as everything I wrote from Brussels was having this amazing, explosive effect on the Tory party, and it really gave me this I suppose rather weird sense of power”.

–Boris Johnson^[79]

In September 1987, Johnson and Mostyn-Owen were married in West Felton, Shropshire, accompanied by a duet for violin and viola Allegra e Boris^[80] specially commissioned for the wedding from Hans Werner Henze.^[81] After a honeymoon in Egypt, they settled in West Kensington, West London,^[82] when he secured work for a management consultancy company, L.E.K. Consulting; he resigned after a week.^[83] In late 1987, through family connections, he began work as a graduate trainee at The Times.^[84] Scandal erupted when Johnson wrote an article on the archaeological discovery of King Edward II‘s palace for the newspaper, having invented a quote for the article which he falsely attributed to the historian Colin Lucas, his godfather. After the editor Charles Wilson learnt of the matter, he dismissed Johnson.^[85]

Johnson secured employment on the leader-writing desk of The Daily Telegraph, having met its editor, Max Hastings, during his Oxford University Union presidency.^[86] His articles appealed to the newspaper’s conservative, middle-class, middle-aged “Middle England” readership,^[87] and were known for their distinctive literary style, replete with old-fashioned words and phrases and for regularly referring to the readership as “my friends”.^[88] In early 1989, Johnson was appointed to the newspaper’s Brussels bureau to report on the European Commission,^[89] remaining in the post until 1994.^[90] A strong critic of the integrationist Commission President Jacques Delors, he established himself as one of the city’s few Eurosceptic journalists.^[91] He wrote articles about euromyths such as the EU wanting to ban prawn cocktail crisps and British sausages and standardise condom sizes because Italians had smaller penises.^[92] He wrote that Brussels had recruited sniffers to ensure that Euro-manure smells the same,^[93] and that the Eurocrats were about to dictate the acceptable curve of bananas^[c] and the limits on the power of vacuum cleaners,^[95][d] and to order women to return their old sex toys.^[93] He wrote that that euro notes made people impotent, that euro coins made people sick, and that a plan to blow up the Berlaymont was in place because asbestos cladding made the building too dangerous to inhabit.^[93] Many of his fellow journalists there were critical of his articles, opining they often contained lies designed to discredit the commission.^[98] The Europhile Conservative politician Chris Patten later stated at that time Johnson was “one of the greatest exponents of fake journalism”.^[90] Johnson opposed banning handguns after the Dunblane school massacre writing in his column “Nanny is confiscating their toys. It is like one of those vast Indian programmes of compulsory vasectomy.”^[99]

Johnson biographer Andrew Gimson believed these articles made him “one of [Euroscepticism’s] most famous exponents”.^[79] According to later biographer Sonia Purnell—who was Johnson’s Brussels deputy^[90]—he helped make Euroscepticism “an attractive and emotionally resonant cause for the Right”, whereas it had been associated previously with the British Left.^[100] Johnson’s articles established him as the favourite journalist of the Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher,^[101] but Johnson annoyed her successor, the Europhile John Major, who spent a great deal of time attempting to refute what Johnson said.^[102] Johnson’s articles exacerbated tensions between the Conservative Party’s Eurosceptic and Europhile factions. As a result, he earned the mistrust of many party members.^[103] His writings were also a key influence on the emergence of the EU-opposing UK Independence Party (UKIP) in the early 1990s.^[100] Conrad Black, then proprietor of The Daily Telegraph, said Johnson “was such an effective correspondent for us in Brussels that he greatly influenced British opinion on this country’s relations with Europe”.^[104]

In February 1990, Johnson’s wife Allegra left him; after several attempts at reconciliation, their marriage ended in April 1993.^[105][106] He then entered a relationship with a childhood friend, Marina Wheeler, who had moved to Brussels in 1990,^[107] and in May 1993, they were married at Horsham in Sussex,^[108] soon after which Marina gave birth to a daughter.^[109] Johnson and his new wife settled in Islington, North London,^[110] an area known as the home of the left-liberal intelligentsia. Under the influence of this milieu, and of his wife, Johnson moved in a more liberal direction on issues like climate change, LGBT rights and race relations.^[111] While in Islington, the couple had three more children, all given the surname Johnson-Wheeler.^[112] They were sent to the local Canonbury Primary School and then to private secondary schools.^[113] Devoting much time to his children, Johnson wrote a book of verse, Perils of the Pushy Parents – A Cautionary Tale, which was published to largely poor reviews.^[114]

Political columnist: 1994–1999

Back in London, Hastings turned down Johnson’s request to become a war reporter,^[115] instead promoting him to the position of assistant editor and chief political columnist.^[116] Johnson’s column received praise for being ideologically eclectic and distinctively written, and earned him a Commentator of the Year Award at the What the Papers Say awards.^[117] Some critics condemned his writing style as bigotry; in various columns he used the words “piccannies” and “watermelon smiles” when referring to Africans, championed European colonialism in Uganda^{[118][119][120]} and referred to gay men as “tank-topped bumboys”.^[121]

Contemplating a political career, in 1993, Johnson outlined his desire to stand as a Conservative candidate to be a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) in the 1994 European Parliament elections. Andrew Mitchell convinced Major not to veto Johnson’s candidacy, but Johnson could not find a constituency.^[122] He subsequently turned his attention to obtaining a seat in the UK House of Commons. After being rejected as Conservative candidate for Holborn and St. Pancras, his party selected him the candidate for Clwyd South in north Wales, then a Labour Party safe seat. Spending six weeks campaigning, he attained 9,091 votes (23 per cent) in the 1997 general election, losing to the Labour candidate.^[123]

Scandal erupted in June 1995 when a recording of a 1990 telephone conversation between Johnson and his friend Darius Guppy was made public.^[124] In the conversation, Guppy said that his criminal activities involving insurance fraud were being investigated by News of the World journalist Stuart Collier, and he asked Johnson to provide him with Collier’s private address, seeking to have the latter beaten to the extent of “a couple of black eyes and a cracked rib or something like that”. Johnson agreed to supply the information, although he expressed concern that he would be associated with the attack.^[124] When the phone conversation was published in 1995, Johnson stated that ultimately he had not obliged Guppy’s request. Hastings reprimanded Johnson but did not dismiss him.^[124]

Johnson was given a regular column in The Spectator, sister publication to The Daily Telegraph, which attracted mixed reviews and was often thought rushed.^[125] In 1999, he was also given a column reviewing new cars in the magazine GQ.^[126] His behaviour regularly disgruntled his editors; the large number of parking fines that Johnson acquired while testing cars frustrated GQ staff.^[121] At The Daily Telegraph and The Spectator, he was consistently late delivering his copy, forcing many staff to stay late to accommodate him; some related that if they published without his work included, he would get angry and shout at them with expletives.^[127]

Johnson’s appearance on an April 1998 episode of the BBC’s satirical current affairs show Have I Got News for You brought him national fame.^[128] He was invited back on to later episodes, including as a guest presenter; for his 2003 appearance, Johnson received a nomination for the BAFTA Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance.^[129][130] After these appearances, he came to be recognised on the street by the public, and was invited to appear on other television shows, such as Top Gear, Parkinson, Breakfast with Frost, and the political show Question Time.^[131]

The Spectator and MP for Henley: 1999–2008

In July 1999, Conrad Black offered Johnson the editorship of The Spectator on the condition he abandon his parliamentary aspirations; Johnson agreed.^[132] While retaining The Spectator‘s traditional right-wing bent, Johnson welcomed contributions from leftist writers and cartoonists.^[133] Under Johnson’s editorship, the magazine’s circulation grew by 10% to 62,000 and it began to turn a profit.^[134] His editorship also drew criticism; some opined that under him The Spectator avoided serious issues,^[135] while colleagues became annoyed that he was regularly absent from the office, meetings, and events.^[136] He gained a reputation as a poor political pundit because of incorrect political predictions made in the magazine.^[135] His father-in-law Charles Wheeler and others strongly criticised him for allowing Spectator columnist Taki Theodoracopulos to publish racist and antisemitic language in the magazine.^[137][138]

Journalist Charlotte Edwardes wrote in The Times in 2019 alleging that Johnson had squeezed her thigh at a private lunch in the offices of the Spectator in 1999 and that another woman had told her he had done the same to her. A Downing Street spokesman denied the allegation.^[139][140]

In 2004, Johnson published an editorial in The Spectator after the murder of Ken Bigley suggesting that Liverpudlians were wallowing in their victim status and also “hooked on grief” over the Hillsborough disaster, which Johnson partly blamed on “drunken fans”.^[141][142] In an appendix added to a later edition of his 2005 book about the Roman empire, The Dream of Rome, Tell MAMA and the Muslim Council of Britain strongly criticised Johnson for arguing Islam has caused the Muslim world to be “literally centuries behind” the West.^[143]

Becoming an MP

“The selection of Boris Johnson … confirms the Tory Party’s increasing weakness for celebrity personalities over the dreary exigencies of politics. Johnson, for all his gifts, is unlikely to grace any future Tory cabinet. Indeed, he is not known for his excessive interest in serious policy matters, and it is hard to see him grubbing away at administrative detail as an obscure, hardworking junior minister for social security. To maintain his funny man reputation he will no doubt find himself refining his Bertie Wooster interpretation to the point where the impersonation becomes the man”.

–Max Hastings, London Evening Standard, ^[144]

Following Michael Heseltine‘s retirement, Johnson decided to stand as Conservative candidate for Henley, a Conservative safe seat in Oxfordshire.^[145] The local Conservative branch selected him although it was split over Johnson’s candidacy. Some thought him amusing and charming while others disliked his flippant attitude and lack of knowledge of the local area.^[146] Boosted by his television fame, Johnson won the seat in the 2001 general election with a majority of 8,500 votes.^[147] Alongside his Islington home, Johnson bought a farmhouse outside Thame in his new constituency.^[148] He regularly attended Henley social events and occasionally wrote for the Henley Standard.^[149] His constituency surgeries proved popular, and he joined local campaigns to stop the closure of Townlands Hospital and the local air ambulance.^[150]

In Parliament, Johnson was appointed to a standing committee assessing the Proceeds of Crime Bill, but missed many of its meetings.^[151] Despite his credentials as a public speaker, his speeches in the House of Commons were widely deemed lacklustre; Johnson later called them “crap”.^[152] In his first four years as MP, he attended just over half of the Commons votes; in his second term, this declined to 45 per cent.^[153] He usually supported the Conservative party line but rebelled against it five times in this period.^[154] In free votes, he demonstrated a more socially liberal attitude than many colleagues, supporting the Gender Recognition Act 2004 and the repeal of Section 28.^[155][156] However, in 2001, Johnson had spoken out against plans to repeal Section 28, saying it was “Labour’s appalling agenda, encouraging the teaching of homosexuality in schools”.^[157][158] After initially stating he would not, he voted in support of the government’s plans to join the US in the 2003 invasion of Iraq,^[148] and in April 2003 visited occupied Baghdad.^[159] In August 2004, he backed unsuccessful impeachment procedures against Prime Minister Tony Blair for “high crimes and misdemeanours” regarding the war,^[160] and in December 2006 described the invasion as “a colossal mistake and misadventure”.^[161]

Although labelling Johnson “ineffably duplicitous” for breaking his promise not to become an MP, Black decided not to dismiss him because he “helped promote the magazine and raise its circulation”.^[162] Johnson remained editor of The Spectator, also writing columns for The Daily Telegraph and GQ, and making television appearances.^[163] His 2001 book, Friends, Voters, Countrymen: Jottings on the Stump, recounted that year’s election campaign,^[164] while 2003’s Lend Me Your Ears collected together previously published columns and articles.^[165] In 2004, Harper Collins published his first novel: Seventy-Two Virgins: A Comedy of Errors revolved around the life of a Conservative MP and contained various autobiographical elements.^[166] Responding to critics who argued he was juggling too many jobs, he cited Winston Churchill and Benjamin Disraeli as exemplars who combined their political and literary careers.^[167] To manage the stress, he took up jogging and cycling,^[168] and became so well known for the latter that Gimson suggested he was “perhaps the most famous cyclist in Britain”.^[169]

Following William Hague‘s resignation as Conservative leader, Johnson backed Kenneth Clarke, regarding Clarke as the only candidate capable of winning a general election; the party elected Iain Duncan Smith.^[170] Johnson had a strained relationship with Duncan Smith, and The Spectator became critical of his party leadership.^[171] Duncan Smith was removed from his position in November 2003 and replaced by Michael Howard; Howard deemed Johnson to be the most popular Conservative politician with the electorate and appointed him vice-chairman of the party, responsible for overseeing its electoral campaign.^[172] In his Shadow Cabinet reshuffle of May 2004, Howard appointed Johnson to the position of shadow arts minister.^[173] In October, Howard ordered Johnson to apologise publicly in Liverpool for publishing a Spectator article—anonymously written by Simon Heffer – which said the crowds at the Hillsborough disaster had contributed towards the incident and that Liverpudlians had a predilection for reliance on the welfare state.^[174][175]

In November 2004, tabloids revealed that since 2000 Johnson had been having an affair with Spectator columnist Petronella Wyatt, resulting in two terminated pregnancies. Johnson initially called the claims “an inverted pyramid of piffle”.^[176] After the allegations were proven, Howard asked Johnson to resign as vice-chairman and shadow arts minister for publicly lying; when Johnson refused, Howard dismissed him from those positions.^[177][178] In July 2005, Who’s the Daddy?, a play by The Spectator‘s theatre critics Toby Young and Lloyd Evans being performed at Islington’s King’s Head Theatre, satirised the scandal.^[179]

Second term

As Shadow Minister for Higher Education, Johnson visited various universities (as here at the University of Nottingham in 2006)

In the 2005 general election, Johnson was re-elected MP for Henley, increasing his majority to 12,793.^[180] Labour won the election and Howard stood down as Conservative leader; Johnson backed David Cameron as his successor.^[181] After Cameron was elected, he appointed Johnson as the shadow higher education minister, acknowledging his popularity among students.^[182] Interested in streamlining university funding,^[183] Johnson supported Labour’s proposed top-up fees.^[184] He campaigned in 2006 to become the Rector of the University of Edinburgh, but his support for top-up fees damaged his campaign, and he came third.^[185][186]

In April 2006, the News of the World alleged that Johnson was having an affair with the journalist Anna Fazackerley; the pair did not comment, and shortly afterwards Johnson began employing Fazackerley.^[187][188] That month, he attracted further public attention for rugby-tackling former footballer Maurizio Gaudino in a charity football match.^[189] In September 2006, Papua New Guinea‘s High Commission protested after he compared the Conservatives’ frequently changing leadership to cannibalism in Papua New Guinea.^[190]

In 2005, The Spectator‘s new chief executive, Andrew Neil, dismissed Johnson as editor.^[191] To make up for this loss of income, Johnson negotiated with The Daily Telegraph to raise his annual fee from £200,000 to £250,000, averaging at £5,000 per column, each of which took up around an hour-and-a-half of his time.^[192][193] He presented a popular history television show, The Dream of Rome, which was broadcast in January 2006; a book followed in February.^[194] A sequel, After Rome, focused on early Islamic history.^[195] As a result of his various activities, in 2007, he earned £540,000, making him the UK’s third-highest-earning MP that year.^[196]

Mayor of London

Main article: Mayoralty of Boris Johnson

Mayoral election: 2007–2008

Main article: 2008 London mayoral electionSee also: 2007 London Conservative Party mayoral selection

In July 2007, Johnson announced his candidacy to be the Conservative candidate for Mayor of London in the 2008 mayoral election.^[197][198] In September, he was selected after gaining 79 per cent of the vote in a public London-wide primary.^[199][200]Johnson pledged to replace the city’s articulated buses with New Routemaster buses if elected mayor

Johnson’s mayoral campaign focused on reducing youth crime, making public transport safer, and replacing the articulated buses with an updated version of the AEC Routemaster.^[11] Targeting the Conservative-leaning suburbs of outer London, it capitalised on perceptions that the Labour Mayoralty had neglected them in favour of inner London.^[201] His campaign emphasised his popularity, even among those who opposed his policies,^[202] with opponents complaining a common attitude among voters was: “I’m voting for Boris because he is a laugh.”^[11] The campaign of Labour incumbent Ken Livingstone portrayed Johnson as an out-of-touch toff and bigot, citing racist and homophobic language used in his columns; Johnson responded these quotes had been taken out of context and were meant as satire.^[203]

In the election, Johnson received 43% and Livingstone 37% of first-preference votes; when second-preference votes were added, Johnson proved victorious with 53% to Livingstone’s 47%.^[204][205] Johnson then announced his resignation as MP for Henley.^[206][207]

First term: 2008–2012

Settling into the City Hall mayoral office,^[208] Johnson’s first official engagement was an appearance at the Sikh celebrations for Vaisakhi in Trafalgar Square.^[209] Rather than bringing a team of assistants with him to the job as Livingstone had done, Johnson built his team over the following six months.^[210] Those in City Hall who were deemed too closely allied to Livingstone’s administration had their employment terminated.^[211] Johnson appointed Tim Parker to be first Deputy Mayor, but after Parker began taking increasing control at City Hall and insisted that all staff report directly to him, Johnson dismissed him.^[212] Because of these problems, many in the Conservative Party initially distanced themselves from Johnson’s administration, fearing it would be counterproductive to achieving a Conservative victory in the 2010 general election.^[213]Johnson gave a victory speech in City Hall after being elected as a Mayor of London

He received criticism during the early weeks of his administration, largely because he was late for two official functions in his first week on the job, and because after three weeks he went on holiday to Turkey.^[211] In July 2008, Johnson visited the closing ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, there offending his Chinese hosts with his attire.^[214] During the electoral campaign, Johnson had confided to Brian Paddick he was unsure how he would maintain his lifestyle while relying upon the mayoral salary of £140,000 a year.^[215] To resolve this problem, he agreed to continue his Daily Telegraph column alongside his mayoral job, thus earning a further £250,000 a year.^[216] His team believed this would cause controversy and made him promise to donate a fifth of his Daily Telegraph fee to a charitable cause providing bursaries for students. Johnson resented this, and ultimately did not pay a full fifth.^[217] Controversy erupted when he was questioned about his Daily Telegraph fee on BBC‘s HARDtalk; there, he referred to the £250,000 as “chicken feed”, something that was widely condemned, given that this was roughly 10 times the average yearly wage for a British worker.^{[218][219][220]}

During his first administration, Johnson was embroiled in several personal scandals. After moving to a new house in Islington, he built a shed on his balcony without obtaining planning permission; after neighbours complained, he dismantled it.^[221] The press also accused him of having an affair with Helen Macintyre and of fathering her child, allegations that he did not deny.^{[222][223][224][225]} Controversy arose when Johnson was accused of warning the MP Damian Green that police were planning to arrest him; Johnson denied the claims and did not face criminal charges under the Criminal Justice Act.^[226] He was accused of cronyism,^[227] in particular for appointing Veronica Wadley, a former Evening Standard editor who had supported him, as the chair of London’s Arts Council when she was widely regarded as not being the best candidate for the position.^{[228][229][230]} He was caught up in the parliamentary expenses scandal and accused of excessive personal spending on taxi journeys. His deputy mayor Ian Clement was found to have misused a City Hall credit card, resulting in his resignation.^[231] Johnson remained a popular figure in London with a strong celebrity status.^[232] In 2009, he rescued Franny Armstrong from anti-social teenagers who had threatened her while he was cycling past them.^{[233][234][235]}

Policies

The New Routemaster bus introduced by Johnson’s administration

Johnson made no major changes to the mayoral system Livingstone developed.^[236] He reversed several measures implemented by Livingstone’s administration, ending the city’s oil deal with Venezuela, abolishing The Londoner newsletter, and scrapping the half-yearly inspections of black cabs, which was reinstated three years later.^[237] Abolishing the western wing of the congestion charging zone,^[238] he cancelled plans to increase the congestion charge for four-wheel-drive vehicles.^[239] He was subsequently accused of failing to publish an independent report on air pollution commissioned by the Greater London Authority, which revealed the city breached legal limits on nitrogen dioxide levels.^[240][241]

Johnson retained Livingstone projects such as Crossrail and the 2012 Olympic Games, but was accused of trying to take credit for them.^[242] He introduced a public bicycle scheme that had been mooted by Livingstone’s administration; colloquially known as “Boris Bikes“, the part privately financed system cost £140 million and was a significant financial loss but proved popular.^[243][244] Despite Johnson’s support of cycling in London, and his much-publicised identity as a cyclist, some cycling groups who argued he had failed to make the city’s roads safer for cyclists criticised his administration.^[245] As per his election pledge, he commissioned the development of the New Routemaster buses for central London.^[246] He also ordered the construction of a cable car system that crossed the River Thames between Greenwich Peninsula and the Royal Docks.^[247]Johnson implemented Livingstone’s idea of a public bicycle system; the result was dubbed the “Boris Bike”.

Johnson’s first policy initiative was a ban on drinking alcohol on public transport.^[248][249] At the beginning of his tenure as mayor, Johnson announced plans to extend pay-as-you-go Oyster cards to national rail services in London.^[250] A pledge in Johnson’s election manifesto was to retain Tube ticket offices, in opposition to Livingstone’s proposal to close up to 40 London Underground ticket offices.^[251] On 2 July 2008, the Mayor’s office announced the closure plan was to be abandoned and that offices would remain open.^[252] On 21 November 2013, Transport for London announced that all London Underground ticket offices would close by 2015.^[253] In financing these projects, Johnson’s administration borrowed £100 million,^[254] while public transport fares were increased by 50 per cent.^[255]

During his first Mayoral term, Johnson was perceived as having moved leftward on certain issues, for instance, supporting the London Living Wage and endorsing an amnesty for illegal migrants.^[256] He tried placating critics who had deemed him a bigot by appearing at London’s gay pride parade and praising ethnic minority newspapers.^[257] In 2012, he banned London buses from displaying the adverts of Core Issues Trust, a Christian group, which compared homosexuality to an illness.^[258] In August 2008, Johnson broke from the traditional protocol of those in public office not publicly commenting on other nations’ elections by endorsing Barack Obama for the presidency of the United States.^[259][260]

Relations with police, finance, and the media

Johnson’s response to the 2011 London riots was criticised

Johnson appointed himself chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA), and in October 2008 successfully pushed for the resignation of Metropolitan Police Commissioner Ian Blair after the latter was criticised for allegedly handing contracts to friends and for his handling of the death of Jean Charles de Menezes.^{[261][262][263]} This earned Johnson great respect among Conservatives, who interpreted it as his first act of strength.^[264] Johnson resigned as MPA chairman in January 2010,^[256] but throughout his mayoralty was highly supportive of the Metropolitan Police, particularly during the controversy surrounding the death of Ian Tomlinson.^[265] Overall crime in London fell during his administration, but his claim that serious youth crime had decreased proved to be false, and he acknowledged the error.^[266][267] Similarly, his claim that Metropolitan Police numbers had increased was characterised as untrue,^[266] but the fact-checkers at Full Fact felt that both Johnson’s and his critics’ positions are defensible.^[268] He was criticised for his response to the 2011 London riots; holidaying with his family in British Columbia when the rioting broke out, he did not return immediately to London, only doing so 48 hours after it had begun and addressing Londoners 60 hours thereafter. Upon visiting shopkeepers and residents affected by the riots in Clapham, elements within the crowds booed and jeered him.^[269]Johnson lights the flame at the 2010 London Youth Games opening ceremony

Johnson championed London’s financial sector and denounced what he saw as “banker bashing” following the financial crisis of 2007–08,^[270] condemning the anti-capitalist Occupy London movement that appeared in 2011.^[271] He spent much time with those involved in the financial services and criticised the government’s 50p tax rate for higher earners.^[272] He collected donations from the city’s wealthy for a charitable enterprise, the Mayor’s Fund, which he had established to aid disadvantaged youths. It initially announced the fund would raise £100 million, but by 2010 it had only spent £1.5 million.^[273] He also maintained extensive personal contacts throughout the British media,^[274] which resulted in widespread favourable press coverage of his administration.^[274] In turn he remained largely supportive of his friends in the media—among them Rupert Murdoch—during the News International phone hacking scandal.^[275]

The formation of the Forensic Audit Panel was announced on 8 May 2008. The panel was tasked with monitoring and investigating financial management at the London Development Agency and the Greater London Authority.^[276] Johnson’s announcement was criticised by Labour for the perceived politicisation of this nominally independent panel, who asked whether the appointment of key Johnson allies to the panel – “to dig dirt on Ken Livingstone” – was “an appropriate use of public funds”.^[277] The head of the panel, Patience Wheatcroft, was married to a Conservative councillor^[278] and three of the four remaining panel members also had close links to the Conservatives: Stephen Greenhalgh (Conservative Leader of Hammersmith and Fulham London Borough Council),^[279] Patrick Frederick (Chairman of Conservative Business Relations for South East England and Southern London), and Edward Lister (Conservative Leader of Wandsworth London Borough Council).^[280]

Re-election campaign

Up for re-election in 2012, Johnson again hired Crosby to orchestrate his campaign.^[281] Before the election, Johnson published Johnson’s Life of London, a work of popular history that the historian A. N. Wilson characterised as a “coded plea” for votes.^[282] Polls suggested that while Livingstone’s approach to transport was preferred, voters in London placed greater trust in Johnson over issues of crime and the economy.^[283] During the 2012 Mayoral election, Johnson sought re-election, while Livingstone was selected as the Labour candidate again. Johnson’s campaign emphasised the accusation that Livingstone was guilty of tax evasion, for which Livingstone called Johnson a “bare-faced liar”.^[284] The political scientist Andrew Crines believed that Livingstone’s campaign focused on criticising Johnson rather than presenting an alternate and progressive vision of London’s future.^[285] In 2012, Johnson was re-elected as mayor.^[286]

Second term: 2012–2016

Johnson at the 2012 Summer Olympics

London was successful in its bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympics while Ken Livingstone was still mayor in 2005. Johnson’s role in the proceedings was as the co-chair of an Olympic board which oversaw the games.^[287] Two of his actions after taking on this role were to improve transportation around London by making more tickets available and laying on more buses around the capital during the busy period, when thousands of spectators were temporary visitors in London.^[288][289] Johnson was accused of covering up pollution ahead of the games by deploying dust suppressants to remove air particulates near monitoring stations.^[240] In November 2013, Johnson announced major changes to the operation of London Underground, including the extension of operating hours to run through the night at weekends. All staffed ticket offices would be closed to save over £40 million a year and replaced with automated ticketing systems.^[290][291]

Johnson had a close friendship with American technology entrepreneur, former DJ^[292] and model Jennifer Arcuri, with The Sunday Times describing him as a regular visitor to her flat,^[293] and implying they were in a sexual relationship.^[294] In 2013, a mayoral fund awarded her company, Innotech, £10,000, followed the next year by Arcuri being awarded £15,000 from a government programme. Johnson intervened to allow her onto three trade mission trips.^[295] The Sunday Times said in September 2019 that Johnson failed to declare his personal relationship as a conflict of interest.^[296] Later that month, the Greater London Authority referred Johnson and his actions in the matter to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) “so it can assess whether or not it is necessary to investigate the former mayor of London for the criminal offence of misconduct in public office”. The IOPC was involved because the Mayor is also London’s police and crime commissioner.^[297] The London Assembly began its own investigation but paused it at the IOPC’s request to avoid overlap. On 9 November 2019 it was revealed that the IOPC, which had been due to publish a report on its investigation, had decided to do so after the general election of 12 December.^[298] The IOPC issued its report in May 2020, concluding that, although there was no basis for any criminal charge, there was evidence that the close relationship between Johnson and Arcuri had influenced decisions by officials. The report found Johnson should have declared an interest concerning Arcuri and that his failure to do this could have breached the London Assembly’s code of conduct. On behalf of the London Assembly, the chair of its Greater London Authority Oversight Committee said the committee would now resume its own investigation.^[299]

In February 2012, Johnson criticised London’s Saint Patrick’s Day gala dinner celebrations, linking them to Sinn Féin and branding the event “Lefty crap”;^[300] for which he later apologised.^[301]

In February 2013, during a London Assembly meeting following the publication of London’s 2014, Johnson was ejected from the meeting following a vote and because his deputy Victoria Borwick had left the chamber. Realising that the vote meant he would not be questioned on the budget, Johnson referred to his political opponents as “great supine protoplasmic invertebrate jellies”.^[302]

Johnson attended the launch of the World Islamic Economic Forum in London in July 2013, where he answered questions alongside Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. He joked that Malaysian women attended university to find husbands, causing some offence among female attendees.^[303][304]

In 2014, Johnson published his biography of Winston Churchill, The Churchill Factor. The media emphasised how Johnson repeatedly compared himself to Churchill throughout the book.^[305] During campaigning in 2016, he said there was an attempt to create the Roman Empire‘s united Europe. He said, “Napoleon, Hitler, various people tried this out, and it ends tragically. The EU is an attempt to do this by different methods.”^[306][307] Also in 2014, he was criticised for saying that “almost half” of his senior staff were female, when London Assembly members stated that only four of fourteen top positions in Johnson’s administration were occupied by women.^[308]

In 2015, Johnson criticised then-presidential candidate Donald Trump‘s false comments that there were no-go zones in London governed by shariah and inaccessible for non-Muslims. Johnson said Trump was “betraying a quite stupefying ignorance that makes him, frankly, unfit to hold the office of president of the United States”,^[309] becoming the first senior politician in the UK to declare Trump unfit for office (but rejecting calls for him to be banned from the country).^[310] Johnson added that he “would invite [Trump] to come and see the whole of London and take him round the city – except I wouldn’t want to expose Londoners to any unnecessary risk of meeting Donald Trump”.^[309] He later called Trump’s comments “ill informed” and “complete and utter nonsense”, adding that “the only reason I wouldn’t go to some parts of New York is the real risk of meeting Donald Trump”.^[311] In 2016, he said he was “genuinely worried that he could become president”, telling ITV’s Tom Bradby of one moment where he was mistaken for Trump in New York as “one of the worst moments” of his life.^[312]

Johnson did not run for a third term for Mayor of London and stepped down on 5 May 2016 following the election of former transport minister, Sadiq Khan. Johnson left office still popular with the people of London. A YouGov poll commissioned at the end of his term revealed that 52% of Londoners believed he did a “good job” as Mayor of London while only 29% believed he did a “bad job”.^[313] In 2016, Sadiq Khan announced that three German-made water cannon, which Johnson had bought for the Metropolitan Police without waiting for clearance from the then-Home Secretary Theresa May, were to be sold off with the funds going to youth services.^[314] The vehicles proved unsellable and were eventually sold for scrap in 2018 at a £300,000 loss.^[315]

Return to Parliament

Johnson initially said that he would not return to the House of Commons while remaining mayor.^[232] After much media speculation, in August 2014 he sought selection as the Conservative candidate for the safe seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip at the 2015 general election,^[316] becoming the party’s candidate in September.^[317][318] In the May 2015 general election, Johnson was elected MP. There was much speculation that he had returned to Parliament because he wanted to replace Cameron as Conservative leader and prime minister.^[319]

Brexit campaign: 2015–2016

In February 2016, Johnson endorsed Vote Leave in the “Out” campaign for the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum.^[320] He called Cameron’s warnings about leaving “greatly over exaggerated”. Following this announcement, which was interpreted by financial markets as making Brexit more probable, the pound sterling slumped by nearly 2% against the US dollar, reaching its lowest level since March 2009.^[321]

In April 2016, in an article for The Sun, in response to a comment by President Barack Obama that Britain should remain in the European Union, Johnson said an “ancestral dislike” of Britain owing to his “part-Kenyan” background may have shaped Obama’s views.^[306] Conservative MP Sir Nicholas Soames branded the comments “idiotic” and “deeply offensive”.^[322] Several Labour and Liberal Democrat politicians condemned them as racist and unacceptable.^[323][324] In light of the remark, a King’s College London student society revoked a speaking invitation it had extended to him.^[325] Conversely, both the Conservative Iain Duncan Smith and UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage defended his comments.^[323][326]

Johnson supported Vote Leave’s statement that the government was committed to Turkish accession to the EU at the earliest possible opportunity, contradicting the Britain Stronger in Europe campaign’s view that Turkey “is not an issue in this referendum and it shouldn’t be”. Vote Leave was accused of implying that 80 million Turks would come to the UK if it stayed in the EU. When interviewed in January 2019, he said he had not mentioned Turkey during the campaign.^[327][328] On 22 June 2016, Johnson declared 23 June could be “Britain’s independence day” in a televised debate in front of a 6,000-member audience at Wembley Arena.^[329] David Cameron, British prime minister at the time, specifically addressed Johnson’s claim, publicly stating, “the idea that our country isn’t independent is nonsense. This whole debate demonstrates our sovereignty.”^[330]

Following the victory of the “Leave” campaign, Cameron resigned as Conservative leader and prime minister. Johnson was widely regarded as the front-runner to succeed him.^[331][332] Johnson announced he would not stand in the Conservative leadership election.^[333] Shortly before, Michael Gove, hitherto a Johnson ally, concluded that Johnson “cannot provide the leadership or build the team for the task ahead”.^[334][335] The Daily Telegraph called Gove’s comments “the most spectacular political assassination in a generation”.^[336] Johnson endorsed Andrea Leadsom‘s candidature,^[337] but she dropped out of the race a week later, leaving Theresa May to be elected uncontested.

Foreign Secretary: 2016–2018

Johnson with US President Donald Trump in 2017 UNGAJohnson visited the British Virgin Islands after Hurricane Irma

After Theresa May had become Conservative Party leader and prime minister, she appointed Johnson Foreign Secretary in July 2016.^[338] Analysts saw the appointment as a tactic to weaken Johnson politically: the new positions of “Brexit secretary” and international trade secretary left the foreign secretary as a figurehead with few powers.^[338][339] Johnson’s appointment ensured he would often be out of the country and unable to organise and mobilise backbenchers against her, while forcing him to take responsibility for problems caused by withdrawing from the EU.^[340][341]

Some journalists and foreign politicians criticised Johnson’s appointment because of his history of controversial statements about other countries.^{[342][343][344]} His tenure in the role attracted criticism from diplomats and foreign policy experts.^[345][346] A number of diplomats, FCO staff and foreign ministers who worked with Johnson compared his leadership unfavourably to previous foreign secretaries for his perceived lack of conviction or substantive positions on British foreign policy issues.^[345][346] Former Swedish prime minister Carl Bildt said: “I wish it was a joke.”^[347] A senior official in Obama’s government suggested Johnson’s appointment would push the US further towards Germany at the expense of the Special Relationship with the UK.^[348] On one occasion Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi walked out of a meeting with Johnson after a meeting did not “get beyond the pleasantries”.^[345]

Johnson’s visit to Turkey from 25 to 27 September 2016 was somewhat tense because he had won Douglas Murray‘s offensive poetry competition about the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, four months earlier.^[349] When questioned by a journalist whether he would apologise for the poem, Johnson dismissed the matter as “trivia”.^[350] Johnson pledged to help Turkey join the EU and expressed support for Erdogan’s government.^[351] Johnson supported the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen and refused to block UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia,^[352] stating there was no clear evidence of breaches of international humanitarian law by Saudi Arabia in the war in Yemen.^[353] In September 2016, human rights groups accused him of blocking the UN inquiry into Saudi war crimes in Yemen.^[354] Given the UK-Saudi alliance, in December, he attracted attention for commenting the Saudis were akin to the Iranians in “puppeteering and playing proxy wars” throughout the Middle East.^{[355][356][357]} May said his comments did not represent the government’s view.^[358]

In November 2017, Johnson told the Foreign Affairs Select Committee that Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe—a British-Iranian dual citizen serving a five-year prison sentence in Iran after being arrested for training citizen journalists and bloggers in a BBC World Service Trust project—had been “simply teaching people journalism”. Zaghari-Ratcliffe had said that her visit had been made simply for her daughter to meet her grandparents. Facing criticism, Johnson stated he had been misquoted and that nothing he said had justified Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s sentence.^[359][360] In May 2018, Johnson backed^[361][362] the Iran nuclear deal framework, despite Donald Trump’s withdrawal.^[363] Johnson said the deal brought economic benefits to the Iranian people.^[364] Johnson described the Gülen movement as a “cult” and supported Turkey’s post-coup purges. He said that Turkey’s coup attempt “was deeply violent, deeply anti-democratic, deeply sinister and it was totally right that it was crushed”.^[365]Foreign Ministers of the US, the UK, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, before a working dinner focused on Yemen, 19 July 2016

In April 2017, Johnson said that Gibraltar’s sovereignty was “not going to change” after Brexit.^[366] Johnson promised while in Northern Ireland that Brexit would leave the Irish border “absolutely unchanged”.^[367] In May 2017, during the 2017 United Kingdom general election, a woman criticised him for discussing ending tariffs on Indian whisky in a Sikh temple in Bristol (Sikhism prohibits alcohol use). He later expressed regret that the protester held differing views to his on alcohol.^[368]

Johnson visited the islands of Anguilla, and Tortola (in the British Virgin Islands) on 13 September 2017 to confirm the United Kingdom’s commitment to helping restore British territories devastated by Hurricane Irma.^[369][370] He said he was reminded of photos of Hiroshima after the atom bomb had landed on it.^[371]

In September 2017, he was criticised for reciting lines from Rudyard Kipling‘s poem Mandalay while visiting a Myanmar temple; the British ambassador, who was with him, suggested it was “not appropriate”.^{[372][373][374]} In October 2017, he faced criticism for stating the Libyan city of Sirte could become an economic success like Dubai: “all they have to do is clear the dead bodies away”.^[375][376] Johnson did not condemn the actions of the Spanish government and police during the outlawed Catalan independence referendum on 1 October 2017.^[377]Johnson met with Myanmar‘s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi in September 2016

Johnson backed a more aggressive policy towards Russia.^[378][379] Following the March 2018 poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury, an act which the UK government blamed on Russia,^[380][381] Johnson compared Vladimir Putin‘s hosting of the World Cup in Russia to Adolf Hitler‘s hosting of the Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936.^[382] Russia’s Foreign Ministry denounced Johnson’s “unacceptable and unworthy” parallel towards Russia, a “nation that lost millions of lives in fighting Nazism”.^[383] Johnson described the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany as “divisive” and a “threat” that left Europe dependent on a “malign Russia” for its energy supplies.^[384]

Johnson condemned the persecution of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar,^[385] comparing the situation with the displacement of Palestinians in 1948.^[386] Johnson supported the Turkish invasion of northern Syria aimed at ousting the Syrian Kurds from the enclave of Afrin.^[387]Johnson meeting with Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Tehran in December 2017

In a September 2017 op-ed, Johnson reiterated the UK would regain control of £350m a week after Brexit, suggesting it go to the National Health Service (NHS).^[388] Cabinet colleagues subsequently criticised him for reviving the assertion and accused of “clear misuse of official statistics” by the chair of the UK Statistics Authority, Sir David Norgrove.^[389][390] The authority rejected the suggestion that it was quibbling over newspaper headlines and not Johnson’s actual words.^[390] Following the 2017 general election, Johnson denied media reports he intended to challenge May’s leadership.^[391] In a February 2018 letter to May, Johnson suggested that Northern Ireland may have to accept border controls after Brexit and that it would not seriously affect trade, having initially said a hard border would be unthinkable.^[392]Johnson with Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu in June 2018

In March 2018, Johnson apologised for his “inadvertent sexism” after being criticised for calling Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry as “Lady Nugee”; Thornberry was married to Christopher Nugee but did not use his surname.^[393] In June, he was reported as having said “fuck business” when asked about corporate concerns regarding a ‘hard’ Brexit.^{[394][395][396][397]}

Johnson said that US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital is a “moment of opportunity” for peace.^[398] In June 2018, Johnson accused the UNHRC of focusing disproportionately on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories.^[399]

Secret recordings obtained by BuzzFeed News in June 2018 revealed Johnson’s dissatisfaction with Prime Minister Theresa May’s negotiating style, accusing her of being too collaborative with the European Union in Brexit negotiations. Comparing May’s approach to that of the US President Donald Trump – who at the time was engaged in a combative trade war with the EU because it raised tariffs on metal – Johnson said: “Imagine Trump doing Brexit. He’d go in bloody hard … There’d be all sorts of breakdowns, all sorts of chaos. Everyone would think he’d gone mad. But actually you might get somewhere. It’s a very, very good thought.” He also called Philip Hammond and the Treasury “the heart of Remain” and accused individuals of scaremongering over a Brexit “meltdown”, saying “No panic. Pro bono publico, no bloody panic. It’s going to be all right in the end.”^[400]

During trips to the United States as foreign secretary, Johnson had repeated meetings with Trump adviser and speechwriter Stephen Miller, which were held off White House grounds and kept quiet from May. During the meetings, Miller and Johnson “swapped speech-writing ideas and tips”.^[401]

In July 2018, three days after the cabinet had its meeting at Chequers to agree on a Brexit strategy,^[402] Johnson, along with Brexit Secretary David Davis,^[403] resigned his post.^[404]

Return to the backbenches: 2018–2019

By resigning as foreign secretary, Johnson returned to the role of a backbench MP. In July, he delivered a resignation speech, stating that ministers were “saying one thing to the EU about what we are really doing, and pretending another to the electorate”. Johnson added that “it is not too late to save Brexit. We have time in these negotiations. We have changed tack once and we can change once again”.^[405] Buzzfeed reported Johnson had been in contact with Steve Bannon, Donald Trump‘s former chief adviser. In interviews, Bannon had praised Johnson and said he should challenge Theresa May for the party leadership.^[406][407] In January 2019, Johnson came under criticism for remarks he had made during the 2016 Leave campaign regarding the prospect of Turkish accession to the European Union; he denied making such remarks.^[408] In March 2019, Johnson said that expenditure on investigating historic allegations of child abuse, instead of more police on the streets, was money “spaffed up the wall”.^[409] A victim, anti-abuse organisations, a police chief and Shadow police minister Louise Haigh strongly criticised this.^[410]

Journalism

In July 2018, Johnson signed a 12‑month contract to write articles for the Telegraph Media Group.^[411] In August, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACoBA) reported that this employment was a breach of the Ministerial Code.^[411][412] In December, Johnson was ordered to apologise to Parliament for failing to declare £50,000 of earnings. The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards found the errors were not inadvertent, and that Johnson had failed on nine occasions to make declarations within the rules.^[413]

In September 2018, Johnson wrote: “We have opened ourselves to perpetual political blackmail. We have wrapped a suicide vest around the British constitution – and handed the detonator to Michel Barnier.” Senior Tories heavily criticised him, with Alan Duncan of the Foreign Office vowing to ensure the comments marked “the political end of Boris Johnson”.^[414][415]

In April 2019, the Independent Press Standards Organisation ruled that a claim in a 6 January 2019 article in The Daily Telegraph, “The British people won’t be scared into backing a woeful Brexit deal nobody voted for”, authored by Johnson,^[416] that a no-deal Brexit was “by some margin preferred by the British public” was false, and “represented a failure to take care over the accuracy of the article in breach of Clause 1 (i)” of its guidelines, and required that a correction to the false claim be published in the print edition, and appended to the online version.^[417]

2019 Conservative Party leadership election

Main article: 2019 Conservative Party leadership electionThe logo used by Johnson’s leadership campaign in 2019

On 16 May 2019, Johnson confirmed he would stand in the forthcoming Conservative Party leadership election following Theresa May‘s anticipated resignation.^[418] On 7 June, Johnson formally launched his campaign, saying, “we must leave the EU on 31 October. We must do better than the current Withdrawal Agreement that has been rejected three times by Parliament—and let me clear that I am not aiming for a no-deal outcome. I don’t think that we will end up with any such thing. But it is only responsible to prepare vigorously and seriously for no deal.”^[419] On the campaign trail, Johnson warned of “catastrophic consequences for voter trust in politics” if the government pushed the EU for further delays. He advocated removing the backstop from any Brexit deal and replacing it with alternative arrangements. On 25 and 26 August, he announced plans to retain £7 or £9 billion of the £39 billion divorce payment the UK is due to transfer to the EU upon withdrawal.^[420][421]

Johnson initially pledged to cut income tax for earners of more than £50,000 by raising the 40% tax threshold to £80,000, but backed away from this plan in June 2019 after coming under criticism in a televised BBC debate.^[422] He also said he planned to raise the level at which low-paid workers start to pay National Insurance.^[423]

A poll of party members published on 13 June showed Johnson to be the clear front-runner.^[424] He received 114 votes in the first ballot of party MPs,^[425] 126 in the next, 143 votes in the third and 157 in the fourth. In the last ballot, on 20 June, he reached 160 votes and was named one of the final two candidates, alongside Jeremy Hunt.^[426]

The members’ vote closed on 22 July. The following day, Johnson was elected leader with 92,153 votes (66%) to Hunt’s 46,656 (34%).^[427]

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Main article: Premiership of Boris Johnson

First term (July–December 2019)

Wikisource has original text related to this article:Boris Johnson: First Speech as Prime Minister

On 24 July 2019, the day following Johnson’s election as Conservative Party leader, Queen Elizabeth II accepted Theresa May‘s resignation and appointed Johnson as prime minister. This made Johnson the second prime minister to be born outside of the British Isles, after fellow Conservative Bonar Law, and the first to be born outside British territories.^[428] Johnson appointed Dominic Cummings, whom he worked with on the Vote Leave campaign, as his senior advisor.^[429]

Brexit policy

Johnson discussing Brexit with French President Emmanuel Macron in ParisJohnson signing the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement

In his first speech as PM, Johnson said that the United Kingdom would leave the European Union on 31 October 2019 with or without a deal, and promised to remove the Irish backstop from the Brexit withdrawal agreement.^[430][431] Johnson declared his intention to re-open negotiations on the withdrawal agreement, but talks did not immediately resume as the EU refused to accept Johnson’s pre-condition that the backstop be removed.^[432] The government subsequently announced £2.1bn of funding to prepare for a no-deal Brexit on 31 October.^[433] On 28 August 2019, UK and EU negotiators agreed to resume regular meetings to discuss the withdrawal agreement.^[434]

Also on 28 August 2019, Johnson declared he had asked the Queen to prorogue parliament from 10 September, narrowing the window in which parliament could block a no-deal Brexit and causing a political controversy.^[435] The Queen at Privy Council approved prorogation later the same day, and it began on 10 September, scheduled to last until 14 October.^[436] Some suggested^[437] that this prorogation amounted to a self-coup, and on 31 August 2019, protests occurred in towns and cities throughout the United Kingdom.^[438][439] As of 2 September 2019, three separate court cases challenging Johnson’s action were in progress or scheduled to take place,^[440] and on 11 September, three Scottish judges ruled the prorogation of the UK Parliament to be unlawful.^[441][442] On 12 September, Johnson denied lying to the Queen over suspension of the parliament, while a Belfast Court rejected claims that his Brexit plans will have a negative impact on Northern Ireland’s peace policy.^[443] On 24 September, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Johnson’s advice to prorogue parliament was unlawful, and therefore the prorogation was rendered null and of no effect.^{[444][445][446]}

When parliament resumed on 3 September 2019, Johnson indicated he would call a general election under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act after opposition and rebel Conservative MPs successfully voted against the government to take control of the order of business to prevent a no-deal exit.^[447] Despite government opposition, the Benn Act, a bill to block a no-deal exit, passed the Commons on 4 September 2019, causing Johnson to propose a general election on 15 October.^[448] His motion was unsuccessful as it failed to command the support of two-thirds of the House.^[449]

In October 2019, following bilateral talks between Johnson and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar,^[450] the UK and EU agreed to a revised deal, which replaced the backstop with a new Northern Ireland protocol.^{[451][452][453]}

In December 2019, Johnson said: “quite a large number of people coming in from the whole of the EU—580 million population—[had been] able to treat the UK as though it’s basically part of their own country and the problem with that is there has been no control at all”.^[454] The co-founder of The 3 Million accused Johnson of “demonising” EU migrants.^[455]

First Cabinet

Main article: First Johnson ministryJohnson holding his first cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street, 25 July 2019

Johnson appointed his Cabinet on 24 July 2019,^[456] dismissing 11 senior ministers and accepting the resignation of six others.^[457][458] The mass dismissal was the most extensive postwar Cabinet reorganisation without a change in the ruling party, exceeding the seven Cabinet ministers dismissed in the “Night of the Long Knives” of 1962.^[459][460]

Among other appointments, Johnson made Dominic Raab the First Secretary of State and foreign secretary, and appointed Sajid Javid and Priti Patel as the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Home Secretary, respectively. Johnson increased the number of ministers attending the Cabinet to 33, four more than had attended the May Cabinet. One quarter of those appointed were women, and the Cabinet set a record for ethnic minority representation, with four secretaries of state and two additional ministers coming from minority backgrounds. Nearly two-thirds of those appointed went to fee-paying schools, and almost half had attended Oxbridge.^[456] Johnson also created a new ministerial role to be held by himself, Minister for the Union, fulfilling a campaign pledge he had made in the leadership election.^[461]

Spending plans

Shortly after he had become prime minister, Johnson’s government announced increased public sector spending. In particular, it was announced that an extra 20,000 police officers would be hired, the roll-out of high-speed broadband would be sped up, the funding per school pupil would be increased to a minimum of £5,000 and £1.8 billion for upgrades and new equipment at hospitals. £1 billion of the money for hospitals was money that NHS providers had saved over the past three years and then previously been told they could not spend, rather than being new money.^[462] The Chancellor Sajid Javid also announced that the spending review would be fast-tracked to September. Javid said that this was so that departments would be free to plan for the planned Brexit date of 31 October 2019, but there was speculation that the increased spending was to gain popularity in preparation for a possible election in autumn 2019.^[463][464]

Loss of working majority

On 3 September 2019, Phillip Lee crossed the floor to the Liberal Democrats following a disagreement with Johnson’s Brexit policy. This left the government without a working majority in the House of Commons.^[465] Later that day, 21 Conservative MPs, including the Father of the House and former Chancellor Kenneth Clarke, and another former Chancellor Philip Hammond, had the party whip withdrawn for defying party orders and supporting an opposition motion.^[466] (The whip was restored to 10 former Conservative ministers on 29 October.^[467])

On 5 September 2019, Johnson’s brother Jo Johnson resigned from the government and announced that he would step down as MP, describing his position as “torn between family and national interest”.^[468] Two days later, Amber Rudd resigned as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and from the Conservative Party, describing the withdrawal of the party whip from the MPs as an “assault on decency and democracy”.^[469]

2019 general election

Main article: 2019 United Kingdom general election

In October 2019, Parliament was dissolved, and an election called for 12 December. The election resulted in the Conservative Party winning 43.6% of the vote and a parliamentary landslide majority of 80 seats—its biggest since 1987 under Margaret Thatcher.^[470] A key slogan used in the Conservative campaign was their promise to “Get Brexit Done“.^[471]

Second term (since December 2019)

Second Cabinet

Main articles: Second Johnson ministry, 2020 British cabinet reshuffle, and 2021 British cabinet reshuffle

Johnson reshuffled his cabinet on 13 February 2020.^[472] Five Cabinet ministers were sacked, including the Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith, a decision that was criticised by several politicians and commentators following his success in restoring the Northern Ireland Executive devolved government.^[473] Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid resigned from the Cabinet after refusing a demand from Johnson and Dominic Cummings that he dismiss his advisers.^[474] Javid was replaced as Chancellor by Rishi Sunak; Javid later returned to Johnson’s Cabinet as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in June 2021 following the resignation of Matt Hancock.

Johnson conducted another reshuffle of his cabinet in September 2021. Changes included the dismissal of Education Secretary Gavin Williamson who had received significant criticism for his handling of disruption to education, such as the 2020 exam grading controversy, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dominic Raab was moved from Foreign Secretary to Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary, replacing Robert Buckland in the latter role. Raab was replaced as Foreign Secretary by Liz Truss.^[475][476]

COVID-19 pandemic

Main articles: British government response to the COVID-19 pandemic and COVID-19 vaccination programme in the United KingdomSee also: COVID-19 contracts in the United Kingdom and COVID-19 pandemic in the United KingdomJohnson delivering a press conference on COVID-19, 31 July 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic emerged as a serious crisis within the first few months of Johnson’s second term.^[477] Throughout the pandemic, Johnson made a number of policy decisions to curb the pandemic some time after the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) advised them, and contradicting his previous pledges and statements.^{[478][479][480][481][482][483]} Johnson’s non-attendance of five COBR briefings during the early months of the pandemic and the failure of the UK government to prepare for and control the outbreak has been criticised.^{[484][485][486][487]} The UK was amongst the last major^{[clarification needed]} European states to close schools, ban public events and order a lockdown.^[488][489] This response is thought^{[by whom?]} to have contributed to the UK’s high death toll from COVID-19, which as of January 2021 was among the highest in the world in total and by population.^{[485][490][491]} Johnson’s public communication over the virus has also been criticised.^[485][492]

On 3 March 2020, Johnson claimed to have shaken hands with COVID patients in hospital on the same day that SAGE had advised the government to warn the public not to shake hands and minimise physical contact,^[493][494] though it was unclear whether the hospital he visited actually contained any coronavirus patients.^[495] He continued to shake hands publicly in the following days including on 5 March and 9 March.^[496] On 20 March, Johnson requested the closure of pubs, restaurants, gyms, entertainment venues, museums and galleries that evening, though with some regret, saying, “We’re taking away the ancient, inalienable right of free-born people of the United Kingdom to go to the pub.”^[497][498] On 23 March, this was strengthened into a “stay at home” order throughout the UK, except for a few limited purposes, backed up by new legal powers.^[499] On 27 March, it was announced that Johnson had tested positive for COVID-19.^[500] On 5 April, with his symptoms persisting, he was admitted to a hospital for tests.^[501] The next day, his condition having worsened, he was moved to the hospital’s intensive care unit;^[502][503] Dominic Raab was appointed to deputise for him.^[503] Johnson left intensive care on 9 April,^[504] and left hospital three days later to recuperate at Chequers.^[505] After a fortnight at Chequers, he returned to Downing Street on 26 April and was said to be chairing a government COVID-19 “war cabinet” meeting.^[506] Johnson later said that he had been given emergency oxygen while in intensive care, and that doctors had made preparations in case of the event of his death.^[507]

A scandal in May 2020 involved Johnson’s chief political advisor Dominic Cummings, who made a trip with his family to Durham during the March 2020 lockdown while suffering from COVID-19 symptoms. Both Cummings and Johnson rejected widespread calls that Cummings resign.^{[508][509][510]} Calls for Johnson to dismiss Cummings came from MPs both within and outside the Conservative Party. Johnson’s defence of Cummings and his refusal to sack him caused a widespread backlash.^[511] This resulted in a loss of confidence in the government and specifically its response to the pandemic, referred to as ‘the Cummings effect’ in a study in The Lancet. Concerns were raised in the study that this could affect the public’s compliance with pandemic restrictions.^[512][513]

The Johnson ministry has been accused of cronyism in their assignment of contracts related to the pandemic response. Procurement of government contracts for key COVID-19 supplies and measures has become less transparent as a result of emergency measures which have bypassed the usual competitive tendering process.^[514][13] In October 2020, Johnson conceded that the UK’s test and trace system and its specially developed contact tracing app, which had been criticised for their cost and operational issues, had caused “frustrations” and needed improvement.^{[485][515][516]}Johnson hosts virtual G7 meeting in February 2021

Johnson reportedly resisted calls from SAGE and within the government to enact a second lockdown throughout September as COVID-19 infections rose.^[482][517] In April 2021, Johnson denied allegations he had said he would rather “let the bodies pile high in their thousands” than enact a second national lockdown on 30 October 2020.^{[518][519][520]} The government enacted a second national lockdown on 31 October.^[480] Throughout December 2020, COVID-19 cases across the UK rose significantly, putting additional strain on emergency services and hospitals^[521][522] as the Alpha variant spread widely.^[523] In response, the government enacted further restrictions to large parts of southern and eastern England and on 21 December shortened a planned household mixing period over Christmas.^[481]

After Russia began the world’s first COVID-19 vaccination programme on 5 December 2020,^[524] Britain began its programme three days later.^[525] NHS workers successfully ensured that half of UK adults had received at least their first vaccine dose by 20 March 2021.^[526]

A third lockdown for the whole of England was introduced on 6 January 2021.^[527] Record numbers of infections and daily deaths were recorded in the UK throughout January, and the government began exploring quarantine procedures on arrival.^[528] Johnson said he was “deeply sorry” and “take[s] full responsibility” as the UK passed 100,000 deaths from COVID-19, the first European country to do so, on 26 January.^[529]Johnson with US President Joe Biden at the G7 summit in Cornwall, 10 June 2021

In July 2021, Johnson announced that most generalised public health restrictions in England would be lifted and replaced by recommendations. This took place despite an increase in cases driven by the Delta variant.^[530][531]

In September 2021, Johnson was pictured in a cabinet meeting, with “at least 30 people crammed shoulder-to-shoulder”, without anyone wearing masks and with all windows apparently closed, contradicting government advice.^[532] Johnson was also photographed without a face mask during a visit to a hospital in November.^[533]

In December 2021, more stringent restrictions for England were put forward by Johnson and the government. The restrictions, called “Plan B”, were a partial renewal of previous measures due to the increased incidence of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. These proposals included face coverings to be required in more public settings, guidance to use remote work wherever possible, and requirements of COVID passports to enter a nightclub or other large venues.^[534] Against these measures, the government experienced the largest rebellion of Conservative MPs Johnson’s premiership.^[535][536]

Departure of Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain

See also: Dominic Cummings scandal and Dominic Cummings § Departure from Downing Street

On 12 November 2020, Downing Street Director of Communications Lee Cain resigned amid infighting within the cabinet. He had been offered a promotion to chief of staff before his departure.^[537] On 13 November, Johnson ordered Chief Adviser Dominic Cummings, a longtime colleague of Cain, to vacate Downing Street. Despite this, reports stated Cummings and Cain would continue to work for the cabinet “from home” until mid-December.^[538][539] Several months after his dismissal, on 26 May 2021, Cummings claimed during a seven-hour testimony delivered to Parliament that Johnson was “unfit for the job” and that “tens of thousands of people died who didn’t need to die” during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic due to what he claimed to be “criminal, disgraceful behaviour” within Downing Street under the supervision of Health Secretary Matt Hancock.^[540][541] Johnson and Hancock denied some of Cummings’ claims but declined to acknowledge others, such as Cummings claiming Johnson attempted to play down the threat of COVID-19 by saying it was “only killing 80-year-olds” during the pandemic’s early stages.^[542][543]

Legislative agend

At the State Opening of Parliament on 11 May 2021, a range of proposed laws were announced that are expected to be enacted during Johnson’s second term. These measures include the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Bill, which would restore the royal prerogative to dissolve Parliament; a Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill to combat deplatforming at universities;^[544] an Online Safety Bill that would impose a statutory duty of care on online companies and empower Ofcom to block particular websites;^[545] and an Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill that would legally recognise animal sentience. Further laws would introduce mandatory voter identification at general elections, reform the national immigration system, and implement a levelling up policy to reduce imbalances between areas.^[544]

2021 Downing Street refurbishment controversy

Further information: 2021 Downing Street refurbishment controversy

In April 2021, Cummings made allegations that Johnson had arranged for donors to “secretly pay” for renovations on the private residence at 11 Downing Street.^[546] Cummings wrote on his blog that the plans were “unethical, foolish, possibly illegal” and “almost certainly broke the rules on proper disclosure of political donations if conducted in the way he intended.”^[547][548]

On 27 April Johnson asked the Cabinet Secretary, Simon Case, to hold a review about the refurbishment.^[549] On 28 April, the Electoral Commission announced it had opened a formal investigation into the allegations.^[550][551] On the same day Johnson insisted that he had not broken any laws over the refurbishment and had met the requirements he was obliged to meet in full.^[552] During Prime Minister’s Questions, the leader of the opposition, Keir Starmer, asked: “Who initially paid for the redecoration of his Downing Street flat?”; Johnson responded: “I paid for Downing Street’s refurbishment personally, Mr. Speaker.”^[553]

On 28 May Lord Geidt published a report on the allegations in an annex to the register of interests. The report concluded that Johnson did not breach the Ministerial Code and that no conflict, or reasonably perceived conflict, of interest arose. However, Lord Geidt expressed that it was “unwise” for Johnson to have proceeded with refurbishments without “more rigorous regard for how this would be funded”.^[554][555] Angela Rayner, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, wrote to Lord Geidt asking for evidence of the lack of conflict of interest and said that it was “frankly scarcely believable” that Johnson did not know who was funding the refurbishments.^[556][557]

The Electoral Commission reported on 9 December that it found that the Conservative Party had failed to follow the law in not accurately reporting donations to the party from Lord Brownlow and imposed a £17,800 fine.^[558][559] The Herald say the commission’s report outlines how in March all the money paid by Brownlow and his company had been reimbursed as had payments made by the Conservative Party and Cabinet Office.^[559] Downing Street had said at the time that the full cost of the works had been met personally by the Prime Minister.^[559] Following the publication of the report, The Guardian reported that Johnson had been accused of misleading Lord Geidt during his investigation due to apparent inconsistencies between the reports. Johnson had told Geidt that he did not know who had paid for the refurbishments until the story was reported in the media in February 2021, whereas the Electoral Commission found that he had messaged Lord Brownlow asking for extra funds in November 2020. Downing Street denied that there was any inconsistency stating that Johnson only contacted Brownlow in his role as the head of a blind trust collecting donations, but was not aware that Brownlow was also the source of the donations.^{[citation needed]}

2021 energy crisis

In September 2021, a fuel supply crisis occurred in the UK, caused by panic buying triggered by media reports of a leaked government briefing discussing the shortage of heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers.^[560] This coincided with a rise in energy prices that Johnson said was a “short-term” problem caused by “the global economy coming back to life” after the COVID-19 pandemic. Economists of various political views, and the head of energy regulator Ofgem strongly disagreed.^[561][562]

Owen Paterson controversy

See also: Owen Paterson § Lobbying and breach of Commons advocacy rules, and United Kingdom parliamentary second jobs controversy

In November 2021, Johnson backed a motion to block the suspension of Owen Paterson, a Conservative MP found to have abused his position by the independent standards commissioner after undertaking paid lobbying on behalf of two companies.^[563] The motion called for the creation of a new Conservative-majority committee to examine reforms of the standards investigation process.^[564] Many Conservative MPs refused to support the motion, and 13 defied a three-line whip to vote against it.^[565] Following the announcement by opposition parties that they would boycott the new committee, and faced with a backlash in the media and from MPs of all parties, the government reversed its position and announced that a new vote would take place on whether Paterson should be suspended.^[566] Paterson announced his resignation as an MP the same day.^[567]

After Paterson resigned, a by-election was held in Paterson’s former constituency of North Shropshire. The Liberal Democrat candidate, Helen Morgan, overturned a Conservative majority of nearly 23,000 to win the seat.^[568] The 34% swing was seventh largest in United Kingdom by-election history.^[569]

Partygate controversy

Main article: PartygateDowning Street, the location where allegedly illegal parties took place

In early December 2021, reports emerged that social gatherings of government and Conservative Party staff in Downing street had taken place ahead of Christmas 2020 against COVID regulations. Johnson and a spokesperson denied these allegations.^[570][571] Following a leaked video showing Downing Street staff joking about a “fictional party”, at a press conference rehearsal recorded days after one alleged party took place, Johnson apologised for the contents of the video and suggested he had been misled but had now ordered an inquiry into whether a party took place and whether rules were broken.^[572][573]

On 10 January 2022, ITV News reported that a planned party had taken place on 20 May 2020, during the first lockdown. ITV had obtained an email sent by principal private secretary Martin Reynolds to staff inviting them to “socially distanced drinks” in the garden of No. 10 and asking them to “bring your own booze”.^[574] At the time, people outdoors were not allowed to meet more than one person from outside their household.^[575] Two eyewitnesses later alleged that Johnson and Symonds attended, contradicting Johnson’s insistence in December 2021 that there were “no parties”.^[576][574] At first, Johnson did not deny that he attended.^[577]

On 12 January 2022, Johnson apologised to MPs in the Commons for “attending an event in the Downing Street garden during the first lockdown”,^[578][579] stating he believed it was “a work event”.^[580] He said that MPs should await the outcome of the independent inquiry into Westminster lockdown parties, led by senior civil servant Sue Gray, which he said “will report as soon as possible”.^[581] There were immediate calls across the House for Johnson to resign, voiced mainly by the leaders of the opposition parties. Later, Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross and other Conservative MPs expressed their agreement.^[581][582]

On 19 January, Bury South MP Christian Wakeford defected from the Conservative Party to the Labour Party.^[583] At the end of Prime Minister’s Questions, Conservative former minister David Davis called for Johnson to resign, quoting Leo Amery calling on Neville Chamberlain to resign during the Norway Debate in 1940, and saying: “You have sat there too long for all the good you have done.^[584][585]

On 25 January, the Metropolitan Police‘s chief commander, Cressida Dick, announced that they were commencing investigations into the Downing Street Parties. Dick stated that “potential breaches of Covid-19 regulations” at Downing Street and Whitehall over the last two years would be looked into.^[586]

An abbreviated version of the Sue Gray report into the controversy was released on 31 January, where Gray concluded there was a “failure of leadership” over the events that she had examined. The full report has not yet been released pending the Metropolitan Police’s investigation.^[587]

In early February 2022, four of Johnson’s senior aides resigned: Dan Rosenfield (chief of staff), Martin Reynolds (principal private secretary), Munira Mirza (head of policy) and Jack Doyle (director of communications).^[588]

Starmer slur controversy

The neutrality of this section is disputed. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until conditions to do so are met. (February 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

This article or section appears to be slanted towards recent events. Please try to keep recent events in historical perspective and add more content related to non-recent events. (February 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

While speaking in the House of Commons on 31 January 2022, Johnson falsely blamed Starmer for the non-prosecution of serial sex offender Jimmy Savile when Starmer was Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Johnson received criticism for the comment and his policy adviser, Munira Mirza, resigned three days later, saying in her resignation letter that Johnson had made “a scurrilous accusation” against Starmer.^[589] On 3 February, during an interview with Sky News, Johnson defended his comments, stating that in 2013, Starmer apologised because the CPS had not investigated Savile; however, Johnson then said: “I totally understand that he [Starmer] had nothing to do personally with those decisions”.^[590]

On 7 February, while Starmer and his colleague David Lammy were leaving Parliament, they were ambushed by a group of people who shouted abuse at Starmer including the words “traitor” and “Jimmy Savile”. Two people, a man and a woman, were arrested after a traffic cone was thrown at police officers. Johnson tweeted that it was “absolutely disgraceful” and thanked the police for acting swiftly.^[591] Shayan Sardarizadeh for BBC Monitoring said that the protest was an attempt to recreate the Ottowa “freedom convoy” protests in the UK, and noted that the activists’ references to Magna Carta indicated that the protesters were members of the sovereign citizen movement.^[591] Julian Smith, the former chief whip, and Simon Hoare were among Conservatives who called for Johnson to apologise. MP Kim Leadbeater and Brendan Cox, the sister and husband of murdered MP Jo Cox, warned against politicians lending credence to far-right conspiracy theories.^[592] [593] The following day, a Downing Street source said that Johnson would not apologise for his false claim.^[594] Death threats sent to Starmer following this episode were later investigated by the police.^[595]

Environmental policies

In November 2020, Johnson announced a 10-point plan for a “green industrial revolution”, which would include the end the sale of petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030,^[e] quadruple the amount of offshore wind power capacity within a decade, fund a variety of emissions-cutting proposals, and spurn a proposed green post-COVID recovery.^[597] In 2021, the UK government under Johnson’s leadership announced plans to cut carbon emissions by 78% by 2035.^[598]

Johnson announced that the UK would join the Global Methane Pledge to cut methane emissions by 30% by the year of 2030 at the COP26 summit, which the UK hosted.^[599][600] Before the summit, representatives of Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth criticised Johnson’s comments on plans to introduce “enforceable limits” on carbon emissions for other countries, which they accused of being unsubstantive^[601] and his government faced criticism from environmental groups for cutting taxes on domestic air travel, given the environmental impact of aviation.^[602] He was accused of hypocrisy, by Anneliese Dodds of the Labour Party and others, for flying by a chartered private jet during COP26 to attend a reunion of Telegraph journalists at the Garrick Club.^[603][604]

Foreign policy

Further information: List of international prime ministerial trips made by Boris JohnsonJohnson with US President Donald Trump at the G7 summit in Biarritz, 26 August 2019

Johnson supported the European Union–Mercosur Free Trade Agreement,^[605] which would form one of the world’s largest free trade areas.^[606] Johnson’s government placed importance on maintaining the “Special Relationship” with the United States.^[607][608]Johnson and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Berlin Conference on Libya, 19 January 2020

Chagos dispute

The United Kingdom and Mauritius dispute the sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean.^[609] In February 2019, the International Court of Justice in The Hague issued an advisory opinion stating that the UK must transfer the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius. In June 2020, 30 British MPs – including Labour, SNP and Liberal Democrats – signed a letter calling on Prime Minister Johnson to act immediately on the ICJ ruling.^[610] Johnson disputed Mauritian claims to sovereignty over the Chagos.^[611]

Hong Kong and China

Johnson said in July 2019 that his government would be very “pro-China” in an interview with the Hong Kong broadcaster Phoenix TV. He voiced support for Chinese President Xi Jinping‘s infrastructure investment effort, the Belt and Road Initiative, and promised to keep the United Kingdom “the most open economy in Europe” for Chinese investment.^[612]

On 3 June 2020, Johnson announced that if China were to continue pursuing the Hong Kong national security law, the UK would offer 350,000 Hong Kong residents who are British National (Overseas) passport holders, and 2.6 million other eligible individuals, the chance to move to the UK, with the possibility of later applying for citizenship.^[613] China accused the UK of interfering in its internal affairs.^[614]

The UK joined the AUKUS defence pact with the United States and Australia in September 2021, which was interpreted as aiming to counter Chinese power in the Indo-Pacific region. The pact was denounced by China^[615] and caused backlash French officials, as it usurped existing plans for Australia to procure French submarines.^[616] Johnson was dismissive of this, saying the pact was not intended to be adversarial towards China, and said that French officials should “prenez un grip about this and donnez-moi un break”.^[617]

Afghanistan

On 8 July 2021, the day after saying he was “apprehensive” about the future of Afghanistan following what was then the impending withdrawal of US troops, whilst announcing the near completion of British troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, Johnson expressed the view that there was “no military path to victory for the Taliban“.^[618][619] A few weeks later, following the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, he blamed the United States for the crisis caused by the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan,^[620][621] saying that NATO alliance members “could not continue this US-led mission, a mission conceived and executed in support of America, without American logistics, without US air power and without American might”.^[622]

UK–EU trade negotiation

Main articles: Trade deal negotiation between the UK and EU and EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement

Following the formal withdrawal from the European Union in January 2020, Johnson’s government entered trade negotiations with the EU to agree on their future relationship before the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020.^[623] Fisheries was a major topic of the negotiations.^[623][624] On 16 October 2020 Johnson said that the UK “must get ready” for no trade deal with the EU.^[625] With negotiations continuing until days before the deadline, it was announced on 24 December 2020 that a trade deal had been agreed.^[626] Entitled the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, it came into force provisionally on 1 January 2021, and formally on 1 May. A fisheries dispute between the UK and France occurred shortly afterwards. Introduction of new UK border checks were delayed until 2022 to minimise the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.^[623]

Ukraine

Johnson and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on 2 February 2022

Johnson warned that the European Union faces “a choice” between “sticking up for Ukraine” and approving the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline which runs from Russia to Europe.^[627]

During the 2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis, Johnson’s government warned the Russian Government not to invade Donbas.^{[628][629][630]} Despite this, Johnson’s Foreign Secretary Liz Truss told BBC News that British troops were “unlikely” to be deployed.^[631] In a phone call to President Vladimir Putin, Johnson urged him to “avoid bloodshed”.^[632] Johnson and Putin agreed in a phone call to work towards a “peaceful resolution”.^[633] On 1 February 2022, Johnson arrived in Kyiv on a diplomatic visit.^[634] He called the presence of the Russian Armed Forces near the Russia–Ukraine border “the biggest security crisis that Europe has faced for decades”.^[635] The Kremlin has denied any plans to invade Ukraine.^[635] On 14 February 2022, Johnson warned an invasion of Ukraine could take place within 48 hours.^[636]

Electoral Performance for the House of Commons

1997 general election, Clwyd South

This section is transcluded from Clwyd South (UK Parliament constituency). (edit | history)

Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Martyn Jones	22,901	58.1	N/A
	Conservative	Boris Johnson	9,091	23.1	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Chadwick	3,684	9.4	N/A
	Plaid Cymru	Gareth Williams	2,500	6.3	N/A
	Referendum	Alex Lewis	1,207	3.1	N/A
Majority	13,810	35.0	N/A
Turnout	39,383	73.6	N/A
Registered electors	53,495
	Labour win (new seat)

2001 general election, Henley

This section is transcluded from Henley (UK Parliament constituency). (edit | history)

Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Boris Johnson	20,466	46.1	–0.3
	Liberal Democrats	Catherine Bearder	12,008	27.0	+2.3
	Labour	Janet Matthews	9,367	21.1	–1.6
	UKIP	Philip Collings	1,413	3.2	New
	Green	Oliver Tickell	1,147	2.6	+1.6
Majority	8,458	19.1	–2.6
Turnout	44,401	64.3	–13.3
	Conservative hold	Swing	–1.3

2005 general election, Henley

This section is transcluded from Henley (UK Parliament constituency). (edit | history)

Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Boris Johnson	24,894	53.5	+7.4
	Liberal Democrats	David Turner	12,101	26.0	–1.0
	Labour	Kaleem Saeed	6,862	14.7	–6.4
	Green	Mark Stevenson	1,518	3.3	+0.7
	UKIP	Delphine Gray-Fisk	1,162	2.5	–0.7
Majority	12,793	27.5	+8.4
Turnout	46,537	67.9	+3.6
	Conservative hold	Swing	+4.2

2015 general election, Uxbridge and South Ruislip

This section is transcluded from Uxbridge and South Ruislip (UK Parliament constituency). (edit | history)

Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Boris Johnson	22,511	50.2	1.9
	Labour	Chris Summers[645]	11,816	26.4	3.0
	UKIP	Jack Duffin	6,346	14.2	11.5
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Cox	2,215	4.9	14.9
	Green	Graham Lee[646]	1,414	3.2	2.1
	TUSC	Gary Harbord[647]	180	0.4	New
	Independent	Jenny Thompson[648]	84	0.2	New
	Monster Raving Loony	Howling Laud Hope[649]	72	0.2	New
	Communities United	Sabrina Moosun[648]	52	0.1	New
	The Eccentric Party of Great Britain (UK)	Lord Toby Jug[648]	50	0.1	New
	Independent	Michael Doherty[648]	39	0.1	New
	The Realists’ Party	Jane Lawrence[648]	18	0.0	New
	Independent	James Jackson[648]	14	0.0	New
Majority	10,695	23.8	1.1
Turnout	44,811	63.4	0.1
Registered electors	70,631
	Conservative hold	Swing	0.5

2017 general election, Uxbridge and South Ruislip

This section is transcluded from Uxbridge and South Ruislip (UK Parliament constituency). (edit | history)

Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Boris Johnson	23,716	50.8	0.6
	Labour	Vincent Lo	18,682	40.0	13.6
	Liberal Democrats	Rosina Robson	1,835	3.9	1.0
	UKIP	Lizzy Kemp	1,577	3.4	10.8
	Green	Mark Keir	884	1.9	1.3
Majority	5,034	10.8	13.0
Turnout	46,694	66.8	3.4
Registered electors	69,936
	Conservative hold	Swing	6.5

2019 general election, Uxbridge and South Ruislip

This section is transcluded from Uxbridge and South Ruislip (UK Parliament constituency). (edit | history)

Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Boris Johnson	25,351	52.6	1.8
	Labour	Ali Milani	18,141	37.6	2.4
	Liberal Democrats	Joanne Humphreys	3,026	6.3	2.4
	Green	Mark Keir	1,090	2.2	0.3
	UKIP	Geoffrey Courtenay	283	0.6	2.8
	Monster Raving Loony	Lord Buckethead	125	0.3	New
	Independent	Count Binface	69	0.1	New
	Independent	Alfie Utting	44	0.1	New
	[652]	Yace “Interplanetary Time Lord” Yogenstein	23	0.0	New
	Independent	Norma Burke	22	0.0	New
	[652]	Bobby Smith	8	0.0	New
	[652]	William Tobin[653]	5	0.0	New
Majority	7,210	15.0	4.2
Turnout	48,187	68.5	1.7
Registered electors	70,369
	Conservative hold	Swing	2.1

Political positions and ideology

Part of the Conservatism series
One-nation conservatism
showIdeas
showPeople
showDocuments
showOrganisations
Conservatism portal Politics portal United Kingdom portal
vte

Johnson at a demonstration against hospital closures with Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming (left) and Conservative MP Graham Stuart (centre) in March 2006

Ideologically, Johnson has been described by himself and others as a “One-Nation Tory“.^{[654][655][656]} In 2012, the political scientist Tony Travers described Johnson as “a fairly classic—that is, small-state—mildly eurosceptic Conservative” who, like his contemporaries Cameron and George Osborne, also embraced “modern social liberalism”.^[657] The Guardian stated that while mayor, Johnson blended economic and social liberalism,^[658] with The Economist saying that in doing so Johnson “transcends his Tory identity” and adopts a more libertarian perspective.^[659] Stuart Reid, Johnson’s colleague at The Spectator, described the latter’s views as being those of a “liberal libertarian”.^[660] Business Insider commented that as London mayor, Johnson gained a reputation as “a liberal, centre-ground politician”.^[661]

Gimson wrote that Johnson is economically and socially “a genuine liberal”, although he retains a “Tory element” to his personality through his “love of existing institutions, and a recognition of the inevitability of hierarchy”.^[662] His liberal stance on matters such as social policy, immigration and free trade were also commented on in 2019.^[663][664] In 2019, Al Jazeera editor James Brownswell said that although Johnson had “leaned to the right” since the Brexit campaign, he remained “slightly more socially liberal” than much of his party.^[665] In 2019, former Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party Michael Heseltine said Johnson “has no right to call himself a one-nation Conservative” and wrote: “I fear that any traces of liberal conservatism that still exist within the prime minister have long since been captured by the rightwing, foreigner-bashing, inward-looking view of the world that has come to characterise his fellow Brexiters.”^[666]

“[I am] free-market, tolerant, broadly libertarian (though perhaps not ultra-libertarian), inclined to see the merit of traditions, anti-regulation, pro-immigrant, pro-standing on your own two feet, pro-alcohol, pro-hunting, pro-motorist and ready to defend to the death the right of Glenn Hoddle to believe in reincarnation“.

—Boris Johnson, 2011^[151]

Stuart Wilks-Heeg, executive director of Democratic Audit, said that “Boris is politically nimble”,^[657] while Purnell stated that Johnson regularly changed his opinion on political issues, commenting on what she perceived to be “an ideological emptiness beneath the staunch Tory exterior”.^[667] She later referred to his “opportunistic – some might say pragmatic – approach to politics”.^[15]

Writing for Prospect, Philip Collins suggested that Johnson and other Brexiteers in the Conservative Party were “British Gaullists” who were “drawing on a conception of the nation in which the dormant spirit of liberty is being reborn”. He suggested this was a form of nationalism, albeit not of the “chauvinistic” variety.^[668] In Politico, Michael Hirsch compared Johnson to Trump, suggesting that both were advocates of a “New Nationalism”.^[669] Johnson responded he is “not a nationalist if by that you mean I’m a xenophobe or someone who deprecates other countries and cultures”.^[670]

Purnell has argued Johnson “is nothing if not an elitist”.^[671] In a 2000 article titled “Long Live Elitism”, Johnson stated that “without elites and elitism, man would still be in his caves”.^[672] Since the Brexit campaign, he has criticised the “cynicism of the elite” about Brexit,^[673] described an “elite conspiracy to thwart Brexit”,^[674] and accused the elite of being “frankly indifferent to the suffering that their policies are causing”.^[675] Some media sources and political scientists have therefore called him a populist.^{[676][677][678]} The historian Sir Richard J. Evans has described Boris Johnson as “a firm believer in the ‘great man’ theory of history”.^[679]

Environment

Johnson spoke about climate action at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow on 1 November 2021

According to TheyWorkForYou, Johnson has “generally voted against” what it described as “measures to prevent climate change” while an MP.^{[680][681][682]} Former Minister of State for Energy and Clean Growth Claire O’Neill has said that Johnson has “admitted to [her] that he doesn’t really understand” climate change.^[683] While Mayor of London, Johnson expressed climate skeptical views in several columns.^{[684][681][685]} In two Daily Telegraph columns published in 2012 and 2013, he conflated the distinction between weather and climate and highlighted a factually incorrect claim by weather forecaster and conspiracy theorist Piers Corbyn that reduced solar activity could lead to a “mini-Ice Age”.^[680][685] Bloomberg suggested that Johnson’s interest in climate change increased after becoming Prime Minister, and suggested this could have been influenced by his wife Carrie Symonds and father Stanley Johnson, who are both environmental campaigners.^[683] It was reported in 2022 that Johnson was convinced of the scientific consensus on climate change following a briefing by the chief scientist of the Met Office in January 2020, and subsequently made the issue a priority for his government.^[684]

In 2019, Johnson expressed support for a legal commitment for the UK to achieve “net-zero” greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.^[686] In 2020, he called on world leaders to act on climate change, said he was a “complete evangelist” for carbon capture and storage^[687] and said “as Saudi Arabia is to oil, the UK is to wind“.^[688] In a speech at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2021, Johnson called for increased climate finance and celebrated the creation of the first green bond in the UK that collected £10bn in one day.^[689] He called on world leaders to increase ambition to mitigate climate change at the COP26 climate conference which the UK hosted, and said that he welcomed the prospect of coal phase-out.^[690][691]

Immigration and the European Union

Johnson with EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, 16 September 2019

Purnell believed it was the influence of Johnson’s maternal family, the left-wing Fawcetts, that led to him developing “a genuine abhorrence of racial discrimination”.^[692] In 2003, Johnson said of the EU, “I am not by any means an ultra-Eurosceptic. In some ways, I am a bit of a fan of the European Union. If we did not have one, we would invent something like it.”^[693] As Mayor of London, Johnson was known as a supporter of immigration.^[693] From 2009, he advocated a referendum on Britain’s EU membership.^{[693][694][695]}

In 2018, during the Brexit negotiations, he called for Britain to leave the Single Market^[693] and advocated a more liberal approach to immigration than that of Prime Minister Theresa May.^[696] He stated many people believed that Britain’s EU membership had led to the suppression of the wages of its “indigenous” people and said the EU was intent on creating a “superstate” that would seek to rob Britain of its sovereignty.^[693] In 2019, Johnson said he would take Britain out of the EU on 31 October whether there was a trade deal in place or not.^[697] Johnson also stated his opposition to a referendum on the Brexit withdrawal agreement.^[698]

On 19 August 2019, Johnson wrote a letter to the EU and asked for the removal of the “backstop” accord, which had previously been agreed and signed by Theresa May during her premiership. The president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, rejected the proposal.^[699] On 26 August 2019, Johnson said that Britain would not pay £39 billion for the withdrawal agreement were the UK to leave without a deal on 31 October. The European Parliament Brexit coordinator Guy Verhofstadt said there would be no further negotiation on the trade deal unless the UK agreed to pay the entire sum.^[700]

Unionism and devolution

Speaking in Northern Ireland, Johnson described himself as a “fervent and passionate unionist“.^[701] He proposed building a bridge or tunnel between Scotland and Northern Ireland, but has since scrapped this initiative.^[702]

The devolved administrations have criticised the Internal Market Bill for its re-centralisation of control over commerce, reversing the devolution of power in the United Kingdom.^[703] In 2020, Johnson reportedly said that “devolution has been a disaster” in Scotland, and said Scottish devolution was Tony Blair‘s “biggest mistake”.^[704] He later clarified he was merely criticising the “performance of devolution” in Scotland under the SNP and did not “oppose devolution as a concept in itself”.^[705]

Public persona

Johnson posing with an Aston Martin painted with the Union Flag in 2017

Often known simply as Boris,^[706] Johnson has attracted a variety of nicknames, including “BoJo”, a portmanteau of his forename and surname.^[707] Biographer Sonia Purnell described his public persona as “brand Boris”, noting he developed it while at the University of Oxford.^[708] Max Hastings referred to this public image as a “façade resembling that of P. G. Wodehouse‘s Gussie Fink-Nottle, allied to wit, charm, brilliance and startling flashes of instability”,^[709] while political scientist Andrew Crines stated Johnson displayed “the character of a likable and trustworthy individual with strong intellectual capital”.^[710] Private Eye editor Ian Hislop has defined him as “Beano Boris” due to his perceived comical nature, saying: “He’s our Berlusconi … He’s the only feel-good politician we have, everyone else is too busy being responsible.”^[711] To the journalist Dave Hill, Johnson was “a unique figure in British politics, an unprecedented blend of comedian, conman, faux subversive showman and populist media confection”.^[712]

Johnson purposely cultivates a “semi-shambolic look”,^[713] for instance, by specifically ruffling his hair in a certain way when he makes public appearances.^[714] Purnell described him as “a manic self-promoter” who has filled his life with “fun and jokes”.^[715] Described by Crines as “a joker”,^[710] Johnson has said that “humour is a utensil that you can use to sugar the pill and to get important points across”.^[715] Purnell wrote colleagues regularly expressed the view that Johnson used people to advance his own interests,^[716] and Gimson wrote that Johnson was “one of the great flatterers of our times”.^[717] Purnell commented he deflected serious questions using “a little humour and a good deal of bravado”.^[718] According to Gimson, Johnson was “a humane man” who “could also be staggeringly inconsiderate of others” when pursuing his own interests.^[719] Gimson added Johnson has “an excessive desire to be liked”.^[720]

Biographer Sonia Purnell wrote in 2011:

“Boris is an original—the opposite of a stereotype, the exception to the rule. Overweight and goosey-fleshed, he’s the antithesis of an airbrushed pin-up. He resembles a ‘human laundry-basket’ and has a habit of forgetting to shower.^[667] He is blessed with immense charisma, wit, sex appeal and celebrity gold dust; he is also recognised and loved by millions—although perhaps less so by many who have had to work closely with him (let alone depend on him). Resourceful, cunning and strategic, he can pull off serious political coups when the greater good happens to coincide with his personal advantage but these aspirations are rarely backed up by concrete achievements, or even detailed plans”.^[721]

Furthermore, Purnell said Johnson was a “highly evasive figure” when it came to his personal life,^[722] who remained detached from others and who had very few if any intimate friends.^[723] Among friends and family, Johnson is more commonly known as Al (short for his forename Alexander), rather than his middle name Boris.^[724] Gimson stated Johnson “has very bad manners. He tends to be late, does not care about being late, and dresses without much care.”^[725] Highly ambitious and very competitive, Johnson was, Gimson wrote, born “to wage a ceaseless struggle for supremacy”.^[726] He would be angered with those he thought insulted aspects of his personal life; for instance, when an article in The Telegraph upset Johnson, he emailed commissioning editor Sam Leith with the simple message “Fuck off and die.”^[727] Thus, according to Purnell, Johnson hides his ruthlessness “using bumbling, self-deprecation or humour”,^[728] and was a fan of “laddish banter and crude sexual references”.^[729]

Laura Kuenssberg wrote in December 2021 that public perceptions of Johnson had been damaged by a series of controversies related to Westminster Christmas parties during the COVID-19 pandemic, Owen Paterson, and a Downing Street refurbishment.^[730]

The former Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, appearing in a Sky News programme, “The Great Debate”, described Johnson as “ritually dishonest” and the worst of the twelve prime ministers he had known, with no redeeming features.^[731]

Personal life

Since Johnson was born in New York City to British parents, he first held British-American dual citizenship. In 2014, he acknowledged he was disputing a demand for capital gains tax from the US tax authorities on a property that he inherited in the United Kingdom,^[732][733] which ultimately he paid.^[734] In February 2015, he announced his intention to renounce his US citizenship to demonstrate his loyalty to the UK,^[735] which he did in 2016.^[736] Johnson has a knowledge of French, Italian, German, Spanish,^[89] Latin, and Ancient Greek,^[737] frequently employing and alluding to classical references in both his newspaper columns and his speeches.^[708] His favourite movie is The Godfather, due to “the multiple retribution killings at the end”.^[738]

In 2007, Johnson said he had smoked cannabis before he went to university.^[739] He has also said he had used cocaine.^[740]

Religion

Johnson speaking at Westminster Abbey’sCommonwealth Day Service, 2020

Johnson was baptised a Catholic and later confirmed into the Church of England,^[52] but has said that his faith “comes and goes”^[741] and that he is not a serious practising Christian.^[742] In 2020, his son Wilfred was baptised Catholic, prompting suggestions that Johnson had returned to Catholicism.^[743] Johnson and Symonds married in a Catholic ceremony at Westminster Cathedral on 29 May 2021.^[744] To be married in the Catholic Church, Johnson needed to have his two previous marriages proven to be invalid by reason of lack of canonical form. Since he was baptised Catholic, but his previous weddings were not conferred by the Catholic Church, they are considered putatively invalid.^[745][746]

Johnson holds ancient Greek statesman and orator Pericles as a personal hero.^[747][748] According to Johnson’s biographer, Andrew Gimson, regarding ancient Greek and Roman polytheism: “it is clear that [Johnson] is inspired by the Romans, and even more by the Greeks, and repelled by the early Christians“.^[749] Johnson views secular humanism positively and sees it as owing more to the classical world than to Christian thinking.^[750] However, in 2021, Johnson was asked if he held pre-Christian beliefs, which he denied, saying, “Christianity is a superb ethical system and I would count myself as a kind of very, very bad Christian[.] No disrespect to any other religions, but Christianity makes a lot of sense to me.”^[751]

Relationships

Children of Boris Johnson
by Marina Wheeler
Lara Lettice Johnson-Wheeler (b. 1993) Milo Arthur Johnson (b. 1995) Cassia Peaches Johnson (b. 1997) Theodore Apollo Johnson (b. 1999)
by Helen Macintyre
Stephanie Macintyre (b. 2009)
by Carrie Symonds
Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson (b. 2020) Romy Iris Charlotte Johnson (b. 2021)
[752][753][754]

Johnson with his then-fiancée Carrie Symonds at the 2020 Commonwealth Day service

In 1987, Johnson married Allegra Mostyn-Owen, daughter of the art historian William Mostyn-Owen and Italian writer Gaia Servadio.^[755] The couple’s marriage ended in divorce or annulment in 1993^[f] and 12 days later Johnson married Marina Wheeler, a barrister, daughter of journalist and broadcaster Charles Wheeler.^[759] Five weeks later, Wheeler and Johnson’s first child was born.^[760][761] The Wheeler and Johnson families have known each other for decades,^[762] and Marina Wheeler was at the European School, Brussels, at the same time as her future husband. They have four children: Lara Lettice, Milo Arthur, Cassia Peaches, and Theodore Apollo.^[763]

Between 2000 and 2004, Johnson had an affair with Spectator columnist Petronella Wyatt when he was its editor, resulting in a terminated pregnancy and a miscarriage.^[176] In April 2006, the News of the World alleged that Johnson was having an affair with Guardian journalist Anna Fazackerley. The pair did not comment and shortly afterwards Johnson employed Fazackerley.^[187][188]

In 2009, Johnson fathered a daughter with Helen Macintyre, an arts consultant. In 2013, the Court of Appeal discharged an injunction banning reporting of his daughter’s existence. The judge ruled the public had a right to know about Johnson’s “reckless” behaviour.^{[225][764][765]} There had been speculation that he may have had another child from an extramarital affair due to an appeal court judge stating in 2013, “the father’s infidelities resulted in the conception of children on two occasions”.^[766] In September 2021, after years of obfuscation, Johnson stated that he had six children, thereby denying the existence of any further illegitimate children.^[767]

In September 2018, Johnson and Wheeler issued a statement confirming that after 25 years of marriage they had separated “several months ago”, and had begun divorce proceedings.^[768] They reached a financial settlement in February 2020,^[769] and the divorce was finalised by November 2020.^[770]

In October 2020, Jennifer Arcuri, asked whether her ‘friendship’ with Johnson was in fact an affair, said “I think that goes without saying … But I’m not going to talk about it.”^[771] In March 2021, she went into more detail about the alleged affair in an interview with the Sunday Mirror, saying it lasted from 2012 to 2016.^[772][773]

In 2019, Johnson was living with Carrie Symonds, the daughter of Matthew Symonds, co-founder of The Independent newspaper. Symonds had worked for the Conservative party since 2009 and worked on Johnson’s 2012 campaign to be re-elected as Mayor.^[774] On 29 February 2020, Johnson and Symonds announced they had become engaged in late 2019, and that Symonds was expecting a baby in early summer.^[775] Their son, Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson,^[776] was born on 29 April 2020 at University College Hospital in London.^[777][778]

On 29 May 2021, Johnson married Symonds in a secret ceremony at Westminster Cathedral attended by 30 guests,^[744][779] becoming the first prime minister to marry in office since Lord Liverpool married Mary Chester in 1822.^[780] On 31 July 2021, it was announced that they were expecting their second child together after Carrie suffered a miscarriage earlier that year.^[781] Their daughter, Romy Iris Charlotte Johnson,^[782] was born on 9 December 2021 at an NHS London hospital.^[783]

Family and ancestors

Boris and his younger brother Leo in 2013

Johnson is the eldest of the four children of Stanley Johnson, a former Conservative member of the European Parliament and an employee of the European Commission and the World Bank, and the painter Charlotte Johnson Wahl (née Fawcett),^[21] the daughter of Sir James Fawcett, a barrister^[784][785] and president of the European Commission of Human Rights.^[786] His younger siblings are Rachel Johnson, a writer and journalist; Leo Johnson, a partner specialising in sustainability at accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers;^[787] and Jo Johnson, ex-minister of state and former Conservative MP for Orpington, who resigned from his brother’s government in September 2019^[468] and is now a member of the House of Lords. Johnson’s stepmother, Jenny, the second wife of his father Stanley, is the stepdaughter of Teddy Sieff, the former chairman of Marks & Spencer.^[788] Having been a member of the Conservatives between 2008 and 2011, Rachel Johnson joined the Liberal Democrats in 2017.^[789] She stood as a candidate for Change UK in the 2019 European Elections.^[790] Johnson also has two half-siblings, Julia and Maximilian, through his father’s later marriage to Jennifer Kidd.^[791][792]

Johnson’s paternal great-grandfather was the Ottoman Interior Minister and journalist Ali Kemal who was of Turkish origin^{[793][794][795]} and a secular Muslim. Johnson’s paternal grandfather, Wilfred Johnson, Ali Kemal’s son, was an RAF pilot in Coastal Command during the Second World War.^[796] His father’s other ancestry includes English, German and French; one of his German ancestors was said to be the illegitimate daughter of Prince Paul of Württemberg and thus a descendant of King George II of Great Britain.^[797] This would make him and Elizabeth II sixth cousins twice removed. Through Mary of Teck‘s connection to Duke Frederick II Eugene of Württemberg, they would in that case also have a closer genealogical link as fifth cousins twice removed. Johnson’s mother is the granddaughter of Elias Avery Lowe, a palaeographer, who was a Russian Jewish immigrant to the US,^[798] and Pennsylvania-born Helen Tracy Lowe-Porter, a translator of Thomas Mann.^[799] Referring to his varied ancestry, Johnson has described himself as a “one-man melting pot” with a combination of Abrahamic religious great-grandparents.^[800] Johnson was given the middle name “Boris” after a White Russian émigré named Boris Litwin, who was a friend of his parents.^[20] An episode of Who Do You Think You Are? explored the German origins of his middle name Pfeffel.^{[5][801][802]} Through this family line, Johnson is a descendant in the seventh generation of Anna Catharina Bischoff, whose mummified corpse was found in 1975 and identified in 2018.^[803][804]

Reception

In 2011, Purnell described Johnson as “the most unconventional, yet compelling politician of the post-Blair era” and that he was “beloved by millions and recognised by all”.^[722] Giles Edwards and Jonathan Isaby commented Johnson appealed to “a broad cross-section of the public”,^[805] with his friends characterising him as a “Heineken Tory” who can appeal to voters that other Conservatives cannot (a reference to the Heineken beer advertisement).^[10] Gimson expressed the view that “people love him because he makes them laugh”,^[9] noting that he had become “the darling of the Tory rank and file”.^[806]A protest following the Cambridge Analytica scandal, 29 March 2018

Purnell recognised that during the 2008 mayoral election he was “polarising opinions to the extreme”,^[807] with critics viewing him as “variously evil, a clown, a racist and a bigot”.^[14] Writing in The Guardian, journalist Polly Toynbee referred to him as a “jester, toff, self-absorbed sociopath and serial liar”,^[808] while Labour politician Hazel Blears called him “a nasty right-wing elitist, with odious views and criminal friends”.^[12] He was accused of sexism and homophobia by social media users and members of the LGBT community after referring to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn as “a big girl’s blouse”^[809][810] and former prime minister David Cameron as a “girly swot”.^[811] Cameron has said of Johnson: “The thing about the greased piglet is that he manages to slip through other people’s hands where mere mortals fail.”^[812]

From 2016, Johnson evoked comparisons (both ideological and physical) with United States President Donald Trump.^{[813][814][815][816]} In June 2016, Nick Clegg described him as “like Donald Trump with a thesaurus”,^[817] while fellow Conservative MP Kenneth Clarke described him as a “nicer Donald Trump”.^[818] Trump acknowledged the comparison, saying British people refer to Johnson as “Britain Trump”.^[819] Johnson was critical of Trump on several occasions before Trump’s election;^[312][820] he praised Trump as president,^[821] but disagreed with some of his policies.^[822][823]

Johnson has been described as a divisive and controversial figure in British politics.^[824][7][8] In 2018, The Economist described Johnson as “the most irresponsible politician the country has seen for many years”.^[825] In 2019, The Irish Times described him as “a deeply polarising figure, cherished by many older Conservatives but viewed by others as a serial liar and an amoral opportunist who sold Brexit to the British people on the basis of false promises”.^[16] In 2019, Johnson’s former boss at The Daily Telegraph Max Hastings described him as “a brilliant entertainer”, but accused him of “[caring] for no interest save his own fame and gratification”, criticised his leadership abilities and described him as “unfit for national office”.^[826]

Johnson has been accused of lying or making untruthful or misleading statements throughout his career.^[827] BBC News described this as a strategy to “bamboozle the listener with a blizzard of verbiage”,^[828] and a 2021 analysis in The Atlantic suggested Johnson’s communication style was a honed political skill that contributed to his popularity.^[816] In 2019, The Independent listed his “most notorious untruths”, which included fabricating a quote whilst at The Times for which he was sacked, creating euromyths while working for The Daily Telegraph in Brussels, misrepresenting events during the Hillsborough disaster while the editor of The Spectator, lying to Michael Howard about his extramarital affair and promising that leaving the EU would provide £350 million per week for the NHS.^[829] The Guardian noted that Johnson “almost never corrects the record in the chamber” and that while Johnson’s spokespeople insist he follows the Ministerial Code of which honesty is part of, “No 10 will sometimes acknowledge that an error was made, but more usually brushes aside the complaint or argues that Johnson was misunderstood”.^[830] In 2021, the political journalist and author Peter Oborne published a book about the lies told by Johnson, in which he wrote “I have never encountered a senior British politician who lies and fabricates so regularly, so shamelessly and so systematically as Boris Johnson”.^[831] Opposition MPs Dawn Butler and Ian Blackford have both openly called Johnson a liar in the House of Commons.^[832][833] Laura Kuenssberg, political editor for BBC News, noted that it was “rare for opposition parties to accuse a prime minister, on the record, of lying”.^[828] In January 2022, Johnson was accused of lying by Labour leader Keir Starmer, after he admitted attending a Downing Street party during lockdown in May 2020.^{[834][failed verification]} Speaking in the Commons on 31 January 2022, Johnson made a false accusation against Starmer about not prosecuting the serial sex offender Jimmy Savile when Starmer was Director of Public Prosecutions.^{[835][836][837]}

Allegations of racism and Islamophobia

See also: Racism in the UK Conservative Party and Islamophobia in the UK Conservative Party (1997–present)

In August 2018, The Daily Telegraph published a satirical article by Johnson criticising the then newly implemented Danish law against the wearing of the burqa or niqab. In it, he defended the right of women to wear whatever they chose. He agreed the burqa is oppressive and that “it is weird and bullying to expect women to cover their faces” and also commented that he could “find no scriptural authority for the practice in the Koran” and that it seemed “absolutely ridiculous that people should choose to go around looking like letter boxes” and that “[i]f a female student turned up at school or at a university lecture looking like a bank robber” that he “should feel fully entitled—like Jack Straw—to ask her to remove it so that [he] could talk to her properly.”^[838] The Muslim Council of Britain (MCM) accused Johnson of “pandering to the far right”, while Conservative peer Baroness Warsi accused him of dog-whistle politics.^[839][840] Several senior Conservatives, including May, called on Johnson to apologise.^[841][842] Others, such as MP Nadine Dorries, argued that his comments did not go far enough and that face veils should be banned.^[843] A Sky News poll found 60% thought Johnson’s comments were not racist, to 33% who did; 48% thought he should not apologise, while 45% thought he should.^[844] An independent panel was set up to review Johnson’s comments.^[845] In December, the panel cleared him of wrongdoing, stating that while his language could be considered “provocative”, he was “respectful and tolerant” and was fully entitled to use “satire” to make his point.^[846]

Writing for the Telegraph in 2002, Johnson referred to a visit by then prime minister Tony Blair: “What a relief it must be for Blair to get out of England. It is said that the Queen has come to love the Commonwealth, partly because it supplies her with regular cheering crowds of flag-waving piccaninnies“, in the same article he referred to African people as having “watermelon smiles”.^[847]

In his 2004 comic novel Seventy-Two Virgins, Johnson described the thoughts of a black parking inspector who had been subjected to racist abuse: “Faced with such disgusting behaviour, some traffic wardens respond with a merciless taciturnity. The louder the rant of the traffic offenders, the more acute are the wardens’ feelings of pleasure that they, the stakeless, the outcasts, the niggers, are a valued part of the empire of law, and in a position to chastise the arrogance and selfishness of the indigenous people.” In the same book, the narrator refers to the media being controlled by Jewish oligarchs.^[848]

In September 2019, Labour MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi called on Johnson to apologise for the comments he had made about burqa-wearing Muslim women in the Telegraph. Johnson declined to apologise, stating that his remarks had come as part of a “strong liberal defence of everybody’s right to wear whatever they want.”^[849]

According to Dave Hill in The Guardian, Johnson’s views on Islam have evolved. After the 2005 bombings, he questioned the loyalty of British Muslims and said Islamophobia was a “natural reaction”. But by 2008, he blamed terrorism on a minority of Muslims who distort the Qur’an. And in 2009, he urged Britons to visit their local mosques and learn more about Islam.^[850]

Depictions

See also: Category:Cultural depictions of Boris Johnson

The political career of Johnson has been the subject of several television docudramas:

• Stuart McQuarrie in the 2005 television film A Very Social Secretary^[851]
• Christian Brassington in the More4 drama documentary When Boris Met Dave^[852]
• Will Barton in the 2017 BBC-produced drama Theresa vs. Boris: How May Became PM^[853][854]
• Richard Goulding in the 2019 HBO and Channel 4 drama Brexit: The Uncivil War^[855][856]

Johnson’s bumbling mannerisms and distinctive hairstyle have also made him the subject of parody:

• In the 2008–2012 children’s TV cartoon series Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom, the mayor of Fairy Town, voiced by Alexander Armstrong, is based on Johnson, who was mayor of London at the time.
• Johnson is voiced by Lewis MacLeod in the fourth and fifth series of 2DTV^[857]
• MacLeod also voices Johnson in Newzoids^[858]
• Johnson is portrayed as half-man and half dog, who would engage in acts of canine behaviour, chasing his tail rather than answering questions, in Headcases. He is voiced by Jon Culshaw^[859]
• In 2019, James Corden portrayed Johnson in a sketch on Saturday Night Live^[860]
• In the 2020 revival of Spitting Image, Johnson’s puppet is voiced by Matt Forde^[861]

Johnson has been the subject of British music and music media:

• Singer Robbie Williams portrays Boris Johnson in the music video for his 2020 festive single ‘Can’t Stop Christmas’^[862]
• Johnson was the focus of 2020 song “Boris Johnson Is a Fucking Cunt” by Kunt and the Gang,^[863] which reached number five on the UK Singles Chart.^[864]

Honours

• Honorary degree of Doctor of Laws (LLD) from Brunel University London, 2007^[865]
• Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Institute of British Architects (Hon FRIBA),^[866] 2011^[867]
• Honorary Australian of the Year in the UK, 26 January 2014^[868][869]
• Sworn in as a Member of Her Majesty’s Most Honourable Privy Council on 15 July 2016, upon his appointment as Foreign Secretary. This gave him the honorific title “The Right Honourable” for life.^[870]

Bibliography

• Friends, Voters, Countrymen (HarperCollins, 2001) ISBN 978-0-00-711913-4
• Johnson’s Column (Continuum International – Academi, 2003) ISBN 978-0-8264-6855-0
• Lend Me Your Ears (HarperCollins, 2003) ISBN 978-0-00-717224-5
• Seventy-Two Virgins (HarperCollins, 2004) ISBN 978-0-00-719590-9
• Aspire Ever Higher / University Policy for the 21st century (Politeia, 2006)
• The Dream of Rome (HarperCollins, 2006) ISBN 978-0-00-722441-8
• Have I Got Views For You (HarperPerennial, 2006) ISBN 978-0-00-724220-7
• Life in the Fast Lane: The Johnson Guide to Cars (HarperPerennial, 2007) ISBN 978-0-00-726020-1
• The Perils of the Pushy Parents: A Cautionary Tale (HarperPress 2007) ISBN 978-0-00-726339-4
• Johnson’s Life of London (HarperPress 2011) ISBN 978-0-00-741893-0
• The Churchill Factor (Hodder & Stoughton 2014) ISBN 978-1-44-478302-5

See also

• Electoral history of Boris Johnson
• Premiership of Boris Johnson
• Racism in the UK Conservative Party § Accusations against Boris Johnson

References

Footnotes

1. ^ “Uxbridge & South Ruislip”. BBC News. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
2. ^ Croucher, Shane (23 July 2019). “Britain’s new prime minister was a U.S. citizen for decades—until the IRS caught up with him”. Newsweek. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
3. ^ Grylls, George (9 December 2021). “Boris Johnson to take time off with Carrie after birth of their second baby”. The Times & Sunday Times. The Times. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
4. ^ “Boris and Carrie Johnson announce name of new daughter”. BBC News. 16 December 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
5. ^ Jump up to:^a b “Boris Johnson”. Who Do You Think You Are?. 20 August 2008. BBC.
6. ^ R (on the application of Miller) (Appellant) v The Prime Minister (Respondent), 12 (Supreme Court of the United Kingdom 2019).Text
7. ^ Jump up to:^a b Davies, Guy (23 July 2019). “Meet Boris Johnson: The UK’s controversial new prime minister”. ABC News. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
8. ^ Jump up to:^a b Blitz, James (23 July 2019). “Why is Boris Johnson such a divisive figure?”. Financial Times. Archived from the original on 24 July 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
9. ^ Jump up to:^a b Gimson 2012, p. 20.
10. ^ Jump up to:^a b Kirkup, James (7 January 2015). “Boris Johnson goes looking for Conservative friends in the north”. The Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
11. ^ Jump up to:^a b c Purnell 2011, p. 327.
12. ^ Jump up to:^a b Edwards & Isaby 2008, p. 110.
13. ^ Jump up to:^a b Conn, David; Pegg, David; Evans, Rob; Garside, Juliette; Lawrence, Felicity (15 November 2020). “‘Chumocracy’: how Covid revealed the new shape of the Tory establishment”. The Observer. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
14. ^ Jump up to:^a b Purnell 2011, p. 365.
15. ^ Jump up to:^a b Purnell 2011, p. 121.
16. ^ Jump up to:^a b Staunton, Denis (23 June 2019). “Boris Johnson: The UK’s deeply polarising next prime minister”. The Irish Times. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
17. ^ Berend, T. Iván (2020). A century of populist demagogues: Eighteen European portraits, 1918–2018. Budapest: Central European University Press. p. 239. ISBN 978-963-386-334-3. JSTOR 10.7829/j.ctv16f6cn2.1.
18. ^ Lawless, Jill (23 July 2019). “Boris Johnson’s Chaotic Path to Power Finally Pays Off”. Associated Press. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
19. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 10; Gimson 2012, p. 1.
20. ^ Jump up to:^a b Purnell 2011, p. 11; Gimson 2012, p. 2.
21. ^ Jump up to:^a b Llewellyn Smith, Julia (18 May 2008). “Boris Johnson, by his mother Charlotte Johnson Wahl”. The Sunday Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 23 January 2011. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
22. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 11, 24–25; Gimson 2012, pp. 12–13.
23. ^ Edwards & Isaby 2008, p. 44; Purnell 2011, pp. 12–13; Gimson 2012, p. 11.
24. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 13.
25. ^ Jump up to:^a b Purnell 2011, p. 14.
26. ^ Edwards & Isaby 2008, p. 44; Purnell 2011, p. 16; Gimson 2012, p. 14.
27. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 16.
28. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 15; Gimson 2012, p. 14.
29. ^ Edwards & Isaby 2008, p. 44; Purnell 2011, p. 17; Gimson 2012, p. 17, 20–22.
30. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 18.
31. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 18; Gimson 2012, p. 25.
32. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 13; Gimson 2012, p. 11.
33. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 26; Gimson 2012, p. 18.
34. ^ Edwards & Isaby 2008, p. 45; Purnell 2011, p. 28; Gimson 2012, pp. 17–18.
35. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 28–29.
36. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 29.
37. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 30.
38. ^ Edwards & Isaby 2008, p. 44; Purnell 2011, p. 30; Gimson 2012, p. 26.
39. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 31.
40. ^ Edwards & Isaby 2008, p. 44; Purnell 2011, pp. 31–32; Gimson 2012, p. 26.
41. ^ Johnson, Stanley (18 June 2016). “Stanley Johnson: Why I remain a fan of Brussels”. The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 1 July 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
42. ^ Edwards & Isaby 2008, p. 44; Purnell 2011, pp. 33–35; Gimson 2012, pp. 27–29.
43. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 42; Gimson 2012, pp. 30–31.
44. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 41; Gimson 2012, p. 33.
45. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 36, 42.
46. ^ Edwards & Isaby 2008, pp. 44–45; Purnell 2011, pp. 38–39; Gimson 2012, p. 35.
47. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 49.
48. ^ Edwards & Isaby 2008, p. 44; Purnell 2011, p. 42.
49. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 45.
50. ^ Sonia, Purnell (21 July 2019). “The 10 ages of Boris Johnson: a guide to his road to power”. The Guardian.
51. ^ Jump up to:^a b Purnell 2011, pp. 47–48.
52. ^ Jump up to:^a b Purnell 2011, p. 48.
53. ^ Edwards & Isaby 2008, p. 44; Purnell 2011, pp. 50–51; Gimson 2012, pp. 41–44.
54. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 53.
55. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 49–50.
56. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 55.
57. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 49, 53.
58. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 54–55; Gimson 2012, pp. 51–52.
59. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 58–59.
60. ^ Bunbury, Stephanie (17 August 2013). “Boris Johnson and the right to write”. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
61. ^ Johnston, Chris (15 July 2016). “When Boris was just another Timbertop Rent-A-Pom”. The Border Mail. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
62. ^ Edwards & Isaby 2008, p. 45; Purnell 2011, p. 57; Gimson 2012, p. 83.
63. ^ Gimson 2012, p. 56.
64. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 62.
65. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 63–65; Gimson 2012, pp. 63–66.
66. ^ “David Dimbleby Slams ‘Disgraceful’ Boris Johnson For Ruining Bullingdon Club”. HuffPost. 28 May 2013. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
67. ^ Kingsley, Patrick (10 August 2011). “UK riots: how do Boris Johnson’s Bullingdon antics compare?”. The Guardian. London. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
68. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 72, 74–78; Gimson 2012, pp. 76–83.
69. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 70; Gimson 2012, p. 60.
70. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 68; Gimson 2012, p. 74.
71. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 70–71.
72. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 71–73.
73. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 80–81.
74. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 84.
75. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 87.
76. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 89–90; Gimson 2012, p. 84.
77. ^ Barber, Lyn (5 October 2003). “Charmed, I’m Sure”. The Guardian. London. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
78. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 92.
79. ^ Jump up to:^a b Gimson 2012, p. 102.
80. ^ “Allegra e Boris”. englisch.
81. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 92–94; Gimson 2012, pp. 85–86.
82. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 94.
83. ^ Edwards & Isaby 2008, p. 46; Purnell 2011, pp. 94–95; Gimson 2012, pp. 87–88.
84. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 95–99; Gimson 2012, pp. 88–90.
85. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 100–102; Gimson 2012, pp. 90–96.
86. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 102–103; Gimson 2012, p. 97.
87. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 108.
88. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 106–107.
89. ^ Jump up to:^a b Purnell 2011, p. 109.
90. ^ Jump up to:^a b c Fletcher, Martin (4 November 2017). “The joke’s over – how Boris Johnson is damaging Britain’s global stature”. New Statesman. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
91. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 115–116.
92. ^ Mount, Ferdinand (6 May 2021). “Ruthless and Truthless”. London Review of Books. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
93. ^ Jump up to:^a b c Bower 2021, pp. 68, 627.
94. ^ Henley, Jon (11 May 2016). “Is the EU really dictating the shape of your bananas?”. The Guardian. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
95. ^ Henley, Jon (11 May 2016). “Is the EU really dictating the shape of your bananas?”. The Guardian. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
96. ^ Smithers, Rebecca (21 August 2014). “EU ban on powerful vacuum cleaners prompts anger and legal challenge”. The Guardian. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
97. ^ Dallison, Paul (23 February 2016). “Boris Johnson’s 11 best Europe moments”. politico.eu. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
98. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 121, 126; Gimson 2012, pp. 98–99, 100–101.
99. ^ “Boris Johnson handgun quote is real”. Full Fact. 25 March 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
100. ^ Jump up to:^a b Purnell 2011, p. 115.
101. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 120; Gimson 2012, p. 104.
102. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 118, 124.
103. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 124.
104. ^ Black, Conrad (29 June 2019). “Max Hastings vs Boris Johnson: I know who I’d trust more”. The Spectator. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
105. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 129–130, 134; Gimson 2012, pp. 107–111, 113–114.
106. ^ Jump up to:^a b Press Association (18 February 2020). “Boris Johnson agrees divorce settlement with Marina Wheeler”. The Guardian. London. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
107. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 130–133; Gimson 2012, pp. 111–114.
108. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 134; Gimson 2012, pp. 114–115.
109. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 135; Gimson 2012, p. 115.
110. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 142.
111. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 144, 148.
112. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 143; Gimson 2012, p. 125.
113. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 146–147.
114. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 153.
115. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 139–140.
116. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 161; Gimson 2012, p. 124.
117. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 168; Gimson 2012, p. 125.
118. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 169.
119. ^ Johnson, Boris (10 January 2002). “If Blair’s so good at running the Congo, let him stay there”. The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
120. ^ Johnson, Boris (1 September 2005). “Getting our knickers in a twist over China”. The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 5 March 2020. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
121. ^ Jump up to:^a b Purnell 2011, p. 171.
122. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 162–165.
123. ^ Edwards & Isaby 2008, p. 46; Purnell 2011, pp. 185–186; Gimson 2012, p. 125.
124. ^ Jump up to:^a b c Purnell 2011, pp. 173–176; Gimson 2012, pp. 117–123.
125. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 168.
126. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 171; Gimson 2012, pp. 177–178.
127. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 179–181; Gimson 2012, p. 177.
128. ^ “A Show That Laughs at Boris Johnson, and May Have Aided His Rise”. The New York Times. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
129. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 176–178; Gimson 2012, pp. 127–129.
130. ^ “Television in 2004 – BAFTA Awards”. BAFTA. 18 April 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
131. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 178; Gimson 2012, p. 130.
132. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 188; Gimson 2012, p. 131.
133. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 198–199.
134. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 191.
135. ^ Jump up to:^a b Purnell 2011, p. 204.
136. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 192, 194.
137. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 193.
138. ^ “Boris says sorry over ‘blacks have lower IQs’ article in the Spectator”. London Evening Standard. 2 April 2008. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
139. ^ “No 10 denies Boris Johnson ‘thigh squeeze’ claim”. BBC News. 29 September 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
140. ^ Edwardes, Charlotte (29 September 2019). “Charlotte Edwardes on Boris Johnson’s wandering hands”. The Times. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
141. ^ Pidd, Helen (11 August 2019). “PM should apologise for Hillsborough remarks, says Liverpool mayor”. The Guardian.
142. ^ “Boris sorry for Scouse stereotype”. BBC News. 19 October 2004. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
143. ^ Perraudin, Frances (15 July 2019). “Boris Johnson claimed Islam put Muslim world ‘centuries behind'”. The Guardian. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
144. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 219.
145. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 209–210; Gimson 2012, p. 141.
146. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 211–212.
147. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 220–221.
148. ^ Jump up to:^a b Purnell 2011, p. 240.
149. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 238.
150. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 239.
151. ^ Jump up to:^a b Purnell 2011, p. 225.
152. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 232–233.
153. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 230.
154. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 231.
155. ^ “Section 28 compromise avoids a crisis”. BBC News. 16 January 2003.
156. ^ Cowley, Philip; Mark Stuart (19 November 2004). “Mapping Conservative Divisions Under Michael Howard” (PDF). Revolts.co.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 February 2010. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
157. ^ Johnson, Boris (15 April 2000). “Another voice”. The Spectator. p. 8. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
158. ^ Cooper, Alex (26 July 2019). “Boris Johnson gets mixed reviews from U.K.’s LGBTQ community”. NBC News. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
159. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 149.
160. ^ “BBC NEWS – Programmes = BBC Parliament – Impeachment in practice”. BBC. 2 September 2004. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
161. ^ Gimson 2012, p. 265.
162. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 189, 190.
163. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 226.
164. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 230; Gimson 2012, pp. 145–146.
165. ^ Gimson 2012, pp. 176–177.
166. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 249–251; Gimson 2012, pp. 189–192.
167. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 227; Gimson 2012, p. 143.
168. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 228.
169. ^ Gimson 2012, p. 182.
170. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 223–224; Gimson 2012, p. 150.
171. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 234; Gimson 2012, p. 150.
172. ^ Edwards & Isaby 2008, pp. 46–47; Purnell 2011, pp. 242–243; Gimson 2012, p. 178.
173. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 243; Gimson 2012, p. 179.
174. ^ Edwards & Isaby 2008, p. 47; Purnell 2011, pp. 251–252; Gimson 2012, pp. 193–207.
175. ^ “Boris sorry for Scouse stereotype”. BBC News. 19 October 2004. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
176. ^ Jump up to:^a b Edwards & Isaby 2008, p. 47; Purnell 2011, pp. 257–263; Gimson 2012, pp. 162–173, 209–218.
177. ^ Edwards & Isaby 2008, p. 47; Purnell 2011, pp. 265–267; Gimson 2012, pp. 222–223.
178. ^ McSmith, Andy (14 November 2004). “On your bike, Boris: Howard sacks Johnson over private life”. The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 13 December 2004. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
179. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 277–281; Gimson 2012, pp. 232–233.
180. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 277; Gimson 2012, p. 232.
181. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 283–284; Gimson 2012, pp. 235–236.
182. ^ Edwards & Isaby 2008, p. 47; Purnell 2011, p. 289; Gimson 2012, p. 243.
183. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 302.
184. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 291.
185. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 291–292; Gimson 2012, p. 248.
186. ^ Fazackerley, Anna (24 February 2006). “Blond has more fun but fails to thwart anti top-up fee vote”. Times Higher Education Supplement. London. Archived from the original on 14 May 2012.
187. ^ Jump up to:^a b Purnell 2011, pp. 296–300; Gimson 2012, pp. 255–257.
188. ^ Jump up to:^a b Barber, Lynn (19 October 2008). “No more Mr Nice Guy”. The Guardian. London.
189. ^ Gimson 2012, p. 260.
190. ^ Gimson 2012, p. 266.
191. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 289–290; Gimson 2012, pp. 244–245.
192. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 294–295.
193. ^ Brook, Stephen (15 May 2008). “Boris to return to Telegraph column”. The Guardian. London. Retrieved 7 July 2010.
194. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 292–293; Gimson 2012, pp. 250–253.
195. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 294.
196. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 295.
197. ^ Edwards & Isaby 2008, p. 52; Purnell 2011, p. 312; Gimson 2012, pp. 278–279.
198. ^ Jones, George (16 July 2007). “Boris Johnson to run for mayor”. The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
199. ^ Edwards & Isaby 2008, p. 53; Gimson 2012, p. 279.
200. ^ “Johnson is Tory mayor candidate”. BBC News. 27 September 2007. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
201. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 327; Gimson 2012, p. 285.
202. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 326–327.
203. ^ Hosken 2008, pp. 426–427; Edwards & Isaby 2008, pp. 67–69, 133; Purnell 2011, pp. 90, 315.
204. ^ Edwards & Isaby 2008, pp. 200–201; Purnell 2011, p. 348.
205. ^ “Johnson wins London mayoral race”. BBC News. 3 May 2008. Retrieved 3 May 2008.
206. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 351.
207. ^ Watt, Nicholas (3 May 2008). “Johnson snatches Tories’ biggest prize”. The Guardian. London. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
208. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 352.
209. ^ Edwards & Isaby 2008, p. 207; Purnell 2011, p. 353.
210. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 354.
211. ^ Jump up to:^a b Purnell 2011, p. 366.
212. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 368–271.
213. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 368.
214. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 371–372; Gimson 2012, pp. 308–309.
215. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 360.
216. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 361.
217. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 362.
218. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 363.
219. ^ “Mayor’s £250,000 ‘chicken feed'”. BBC News. 14 July 2009. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
220. ^ Mulholland, Hélène (14 July 2009). “Johnson condemned for describing £250,000 deal as ‘chicken feed'”. The Guardian. London. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
221. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 396–397; Gimson 2012, p. 308.
222. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 407–410; Gimson 2012, pp. 330–331.
223. ^ Mulholland, Helene (15 December 2010). “No censure for Boris Johnson over relationship with unpaid City Hall adviser”. The Guardian. London.
224. ^ Mulholland, Hélène (20 July 2010). “Boris Johnson pressed for full details of the appointment of his alleged lover”. The Guardian. London.
225. ^ Jump up to:^a b “Public has right to know about Boris Johnson’s secret lovechild, court rules”. The Daily Telegraph. London. 21 May 2013. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
226. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 380–385; Gimson 2012, pp. 305–308.
227. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 407.
228. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 401–402.
229. ^ Mulholland, Hélène (9 October 2009). “Ken Livingstone claims Boris Johnson tried to ‘pay off’ former Evening Standard editor”. The Guardian. London.
230. ^ Coates, Sam (8 October 2009). “Boris Johnson ‘broke rules’ by proposing ally for top London arts job”. The Times. London. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
231. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 392–395.
232. ^ Jump up to:^a b Purnell 2011, p. 446.
233. ^ Gimson 2012, p. 308.
234. ^ “Johnson saves woman from ‘oiks'”. BBC News. 3 November 2009. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
235. ^ Mayer, Catherine (4 November 2009). “London Mayor Boris Johnson Saves Filmmaker from Mugging”. Time. New York. Archived from the original on 7 November 2009. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
236. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 373.
237. ^ Edwards & Isaby 2008, p. 211; Purnell 2011, p. 373.
238. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 443.
239. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 391.
240. ^ Jump up to:^a b “Boris Johnson accused of hiding study linking air pollution and deprived schools”. The Daily Telegraph. 17 May 2016. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
241. ^ Mortimer, Caroline (16 May 2016). “Boris Johnson accused of burying report on the number of schools in London’s most polluted areas”. The Independent.
242. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 390.
243. ^ Hoscik, Martin (19 December 2012). “Exclusive: TfL reveals how much Barclays has paid for Cycle Hire scheme”. MayorWatch.
244. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 414–416; Gimson 2012, p. 307.
245. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 442–443.
246. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 417; Gimson 2012, p. 307.
247. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 417–418.
248. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 265; Gimson 2012, p. 288.
249. ^ “Mayor unveils plan to ban alcohol on the transport network” (Press release). Greater London Authority. 6 May 2008. Archived from the original on 13 May 2008. Retrieved 7 May 2008.
250. ^ Waugh, Paul (12 May 2008). “Boris plans to ‘Oysterise’ overground rail services by next May”. London Evening Standard. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
251. ^ Johnson, Boris. “Saying No To Ticket Office Closures” (PDF). Getting Londoners Moving (Transport Manifesto for the 2008 Mayoral election). Back Boris campaign. p. 38. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
252. ^ Murray, Dick (2 July 2008). “Mayor scraps Ken plan to axe 40 Tube ticket offices”. London Evening Standard. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
253. ^ “London Underground in 24-hour plans as ticket offices shut”. BBC News. 21 November 2013. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
254. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 437.
255. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 416.
256. ^ Jump up to:^a b Purnell 2011, p. 388.
257. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 374–375.
258. ^ Mulholland, Helene; Booth, Robert; Strudwick, Patrick (12 April 2012). “Anti-gay adverts pulled from bus campaign by Boris Johnson”. The Guardian. London.
259. ^ Mulholland, Hélène (1 August 2008). “Barack Obama gets backing from Boris Johnson”. The Guardian. London. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
260. ^ Prince, Rosa (1 August 2008). “Boris Johnson backs Barack Obama as US President”. The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
261. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 377–278; Gimson 2012, p. 304.
262. ^ “Britain’s top policeman resigns”. BBC News. 2 October 2008. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
263. ^ O’Neill, Sean; Fresco, Adam; Coates, Sam (3 October 2008). “Boris Johnson forces Sir Ian Blair to quit as police chief”. The Times. London. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
264. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 379.
265. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 387–388.
266. ^ Jump up to:^a b Purnell 2011, p. 436.
267. ^ Donovan, Tim (16 November 2011). “London mayor admits ‘caveats’ in youth crime statistics”. BBC News.
268. ^ “Police numbers under Boris Johnson’s time as Mayor”, Full Fact (26 Jul 2019), accessed 24 September 2020.
269. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 429–432; Gimson 2012, pp. 333–335.
270. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 400; Gimson 2012, p. 324.
271. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 439–440.
272. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 400.
273. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 414.
274. ^ Jump up to:^a b Purnell 2011, p. 389.
275. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 424–425.
276. ^ “Mayor of London announces new Forensic Audit Panel to investigate GLA and LDA” (Press release). Greater London Authority. 8 May 2008. Archived from the original on 18 May 2008. Retrieved 7 May 2008.
277. ^ “Labour accuse Mayor of ‘Tory witch hunt'”. MayorWatch. 9 May 2008. Archived from the original on 13 May 2008. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
278. ^ The Media Guardian 100 – 87 Patience Wheatcroft. The Guardian (London). 17 July 2006.
279. ^ “Stephen Greenhalgh – Conservative Home”. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
280. ^ Barney, Katharine (15 July 2008). “Ken Livingstone refuses to appear before LDA audit panel”. London Evening Standard. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
281. ^ Gimson 2012, p. 338.
282. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 447–448.
283. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 440.
284. ^ Crines 2013, p. 3.
285. ^ Crines 2013, p. 2.
286. ^ “London mayor: Boris Johnson wins second term by tight margin 5 May 2012 Last updated at 01:35”. BBC News. 5 May 2012. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
287. ^ “The Mayor of London – 2012 Olympics”. London 2012. Archived from the original on 29 July 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
288. ^ “Boris Johnson on London 2012 Olympics tickets and transport”. The Guardian (video). 30 July 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
289. ^ “London 2012: Boris Johnson says capital is prepared”. BBC News. 22 July 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
290. ^ “Every Tube ticket office to close”. BBC News. 21 November 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
291. ^ Beard, Matthew (21 November 2013). “950 London Underground staff to lose their jobs in Tube ticket office shake-up”. London Evening Standard. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
292. ^ “PM Defends Actions over Conflict of Interest Claims”. BBC News. 23 September 2019.
293. ^ Bulman, May (22 September 2019). “Boris Johnson facing questions over relationship with ex-model Jennifer Arcuri”. The Independent. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
294. ^ Coates, Sam (25 September 2019). “Boris Johnson breaks silence on relationship with entrepreneur Jennifer Arcuri”. Sky News.
295. ^ “Boris Johnson Facing Questions over Giving Public Money to American Woman”. huffingtonpost.co.uk. 22 September 2019.
296. ^ Weaver, Matthew (22 September 2019). “Boris Johnson urged to justify ‘awarding public funds to close friend'”. The Guardian. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
297. ^ “PM’s links to Arcuri referred to police watchdog”. BBC News. 27 September 2019.
298. ^ Townsend, Mark (10 November 2019). “Fury as decision on police inquiry into PM shelved until after election”. The Guardian. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
299. ^ Weaver, Matthew (21 May 2020). “Boris Johnson will not face criminal inquiry over Jennifer Arcuri”. The Guardian. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
300. ^ “Boris Johnson calls London St Patrick’s day event lefty Sinn Féin crap”. The Belfast Telegraph. 11 February 2012.
301. ^ Hennessy, Mark (13 March 2012). “Johnson apologises to London Irish for St Patrick’s Day slur”. The Irish Times. Dublin. Archived from the original on 13 March 2012. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
302. ^ Williams, Rob (25 February 2013). “Video: ‘Great supine protoplasmic invertebrate jellies!’ – Boris Johnson’s parting shot at London Assembly members after they vote NOT to grill him over budget cuts”. The Independent. London. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
303. ^ Topping, Alexandra (8 July 2013). “Boris Johnson criticised for suggesting women go to university to find husband”. The Guardian. London. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
304. ^ Wright, Oliver (8 July 2013). “Boris Johnson gaffe: Why do women go to university? To find men to marry …” The Independent. London. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
305. ^ Kampfner, John (3 November 2014). “The Churchill Factor review – Boris Johnson’s flawed but fascinating take on his hero”. The Guardian. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
306. ^ Jump up to:^a b “Boris Johnson’s most controversial foreign insults”. BBC Newsbeat. 14 July 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
307. ^ Ross, Tim (15 May 2016). “Boris Johnson: The EU wants a superstate, just as Hitler did”. The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 14 May 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
308. ^ Crerar, Pippa (25 February 2014). “Mayor accused of having too few women at the top”. London Evening Standard. p. 4.
309. ^ Jump up to:^a b Waugh, Paul (9 December 2015). “Boris slams Trump: he’s ‘out of his mind'”. HuffPost UK. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
310. ^ Dathan, Matt (9 December 2015). “Boris Johnson says Donald Trump ‘betrays a stupefying ignorance that makes him unfit to be US President'”. The Independent. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
311. ^ Horton, Helena (8 December 2015). “Boris Johnson: ‘The only reason I wouldn’t visit some parts of New York is the real risk of meeting Donald Trump'”. The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 14 December 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
312. ^ Jump up to:^a b McCann, Kate (21 March 2016). “Boris Johnson: ‘I was mistaken for Donald Trump'”. The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2 July 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
313. ^ Dahlgreen, Will. “Mayor Boris: the public verdict”. YouGov. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
314. ^ Gayle, Damien (1 July 2016). “Water cannon bought by Boris Johnson to be sold off without being used”. The Guardian. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
315. ^ Weaver, Matthew (19 November 2018). “Boris Johnson’s unused water cannon sold for scrap at £300,000 loss”. Guardian newspapers. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
316. ^ de Peyer, Robin (26 August 2014). “Boris Johnson declares he will stand in Uxbridge and South Ruislip”. London Evening Standard. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
317. ^ Johnston, Chris (12 September 2014). “Boris Johnson selected to stand for Tories in Uxbridge and South Ruislip”. The Guardian. London. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
318. ^ Swinford, Steven; Holehouse, Matthew (12 September 2014). “Boris Johnson selected to stand for Tories in Uxbridge and South Ruislip”. The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 4 April 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
319. ^ Bennett, Asa (17 September 2012). “Boris Johnson lacks the skills to be prime minister, says Tory chairman”. LondonlovesBusiness.com. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
320. ^ “Boris Johnson says UK is better off outside the EU”. BBC News. 21 February 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
321. ^ Wearden, Graeme (22 February 2016). “Pound hits seven-year low after Boris Johnson’s Brexit decision”. The Guardian. London. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
322. ^ “Obama hits back at Boris Johnson’s alleged smears”. BBC News. 22 April 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
323. ^ Jump up to:^a b “Obama hits back at Boris Johnson’s alleged smears”. BBC News. 22 April 2016. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
324. ^ Lawless, Jill (22 April 2016). “London mayor under fire for ‘loaded’ criticism of ‘part-Kenyan’ Obama”. The Times of Israel. Jerusalem. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
325. ^ Espinoza, Javier (28 April 2016). “Boris Johnson ‘no platformed’ over Obama’s ancestry comments”. The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 18 July 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
326. ^ Stone, Jon (25 April 2016). “Boris Johnson was not racist about Barack Obama, Iain Duncan Smith insists”. The Independent. London. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
327. ^ “Brexit: Did Boris Johnson talk Turkey during referendum campaign?”. BBC News. 18 January 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
328. ^ “Letter to the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary – Getting the facts clear on Turkey”. VoteLeave. 16 June 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
329. ^ Wilkinson, Michael (21 June 2016). “EU debate: Boris Johnson says Brexit will be ‘Britain’s independence day’ as Ruth Davidson attacks ‘lies’ of Leave campaign in front of 6,000-strong Wembley audience”. The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 22 June 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
330. ^ “Boris Johnson’s independence day claim nonsense, says David Cameron”. The Guardian. 22 June 2016.
331. ^ “Boris Johnson Favourite to replace David Cameron as PM after Brexit”. The Guardian. London. 24 June 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
332. ^ Cowburn, Ashley (30 June 2016). “Michael Gove’s statement on running for Tory leadership against Boris Johnson”. The Independent. London. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
333. ^ “Boris Johnson rules himself out of Conservative leader race”. BBC News. 30 June 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
334. ^ Witte, Griff (30 June 2016). “Stung by a betrayal, former London mayor Boris Johnson ends bid to lead Britain”. The Washington Post. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
335. ^ Hughes, Laura (30 June 2016). “Conservative MPs in uproar as Boris Johnson ‘rips party apart’ by withdrawing from leadership contest after ambush by Michael Gove”. The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 1 July 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
336. ^ Swinford, Steven; Hope, Christopher; Dominiczak, Peter (1 July 2016). “Boris Johnson’s allies accuse Michael Gove of ‘systematic and calculated plot’ to destroy his leadership hopes”. The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 19 August 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2020 – via MSN News.
337. ^ Asthana, Anushka; Mason, Rowena (4 July 2016). “Boris Johnson endorses Andrea Leadsom in Tory leadership bid”. The Guardian. London. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
338. ^ Jump up to:^a b Hutton, Robert. “Boris Johnson Appointed U.K. Foreign Secretary in May Government”. Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
339. ^ Bush, Stephen (14 July 2016). “Sending Boris Johnson to the Foreign Office is bad for Britain, good for Theresa May”. New Statesman. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
340. ^ Hüetlin, Thomas (14 July 2016). “Boris Johnson als Außenminister: Der Prügelknabe” [Boris Johnson as Foreign Secretary: The whipping boy]. Der Spiegel (in German). Retrieved 14 July 2016.
341. ^ Cassidy, John (13 July 2016). “The Huge Challenge Facing Theresa May”. The New Yorker. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
342. ^ Wintour, Patrick (13 July 2016). “Boris Johnson and diplomacy are not synonymous”. The Guardian. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
343. ^ “Boris Johnson is foreign secretary: The world reacts”. BBC News. 14 July 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
344. ^ Malkin, Bonnie; Oltermann, Philip; Phillips, Tom (14 July 2016). “‘Maybe the Brits are just having us on’: the world reacts to Boris Johnson as foreign minister”. The Guardian. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
345. ^ Jump up to:^a b c “Boris Johnson: What did he achieve as foreign secretary?”. BBC News. 9 July 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
346. ^ Jump up to:^a b Hopkins, Nick (18 July 2019). “What diplomats really think about Boris Johnson”. The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
347. ^ Holton, Kate; Pitas, Costas (14 July 2016). “May builds new-look Brexit cabinet to steer EU divorce”. Reuters. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
348. ^ Moore, Robert (14 July 2016). “Boris Johnson’s appointment as Foreign Secretary has not gone down well in the United States”. ITV News. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
349. ^ Murray, Douglas (18 May 2016). “Boris Johnson wins The Spectator’s President Erdogan Offensive Poetry competition”. The Spectator.
350. ^ Steerpike (27 September 2016). “Boris Johnson refuses to apologise for his President Erdogan poem”. The Spectator.
351. ^ “Boris Johnson: UK will help Turkey join the EU”. Politico. 28 September 2016.
352. ^ “Boris Johnson urged to back probe into international law violations in Yemen”. The Independent. 21 September 2016.
353. ^ “Boris Johnson defends UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia”. The Guardian. 5 September 2016.
354. ^ “Boris Johnson criticised by human rights groups after blocking inquiry into war crimes in Yemen”. The Independent. 27 September 2016.
355. ^ “Boris Johnson accuses Saudi Arabia of ‘playing proxy wars'”. BBC News. 8 December 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
356. ^ Tovey, Alan (8 March 2015). “Charted: the world’s biggest arms importers”. The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
357. ^ Dominiczak, Peter (8 December 2016). “Row over Saudi Arabia comments blows open rift between Theresa May and Boris Johnson”. The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
358. ^ “Boris Johnson’s Saudi ‘proxy wars’ comment ‘not UK’s view'”. BBC News. 8 December 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
359. ^ “Fears for Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe after Boris Johnson remark”. BBC News. 6 November 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
360. ^ Rawlinson, Kevin (7 November 2017). “Boris Johnson to call Iran in wake of comments about jailed Briton”. The Guardian. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
361. ^ “Boris Johnson defends Iran nuclear deal after Israeli claims”. 1 May 2018.
362. ^ Wintour, Patrick (9 May 2018). “UK will not follow Trump in ditching Iran deal, Boris Johnson vows”. The Guardian.
363. ^ “Trump pulls US out of Iran deal: Here’s what to know”. PolitiFact.
364. ^ Burchard, Hans von der (21 May 2018). “Boris Johnson calls US plan for new Iran deal ‘very difficult'”. Politico. Retrieved 25 August 2019. The advantage of the JCPOA was that it had a very clear objective. It protected the world from an Iranian nuclear bomb, and in return it gave the Iranians some recognizable economic benefits. That was at the core of it. The Americans have walked away from that.
365. ^ “Boris Johnson says he will help Turkey hunt for Gulenists in the UK”. Business Insider. 28 September 2016.
366. ^ “Brexit and Gibraltar: May laughs off Spain ‘war’ talk”. BBC News. 3 April 2017.
367. ^ “How would Boris Johnson solve the Irish border problem?”. New Statesman. 12 June 2019.
368. ^ “Boris Johnson criticised by Sikh woman over whisky comment in Gurdwara”. BBC News. 17 May 2017. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
369. ^ “Boris Johnson visited Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands after Hurricane Irma to see the UK’s huge relief effort at first hand”. gov.uk (Press release). Archived from the original on 13 September 2017. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
370. ^ “French, British officials view Irma’s damage, vow island aid”. Archived from the original on 14 September 2017. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
371. ^ “Boris Johnson reminded of Hiroshima on visit to Irma-hit Tortola”. sky.com. Archived from the original on 18 September 2017. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
372. ^ “Ambassador stops Boris Johnson ‘reciting colonial poem’ in Burmese temple”. ITV. 30 September 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
373. ^ Grafton-Green, Patrick (30 September 2017). “Boris Johnson ‘caught on camera quoting Kipling poem in Burmese temple'”. London Evening Standard. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
374. ^ Booth, Robert (30 September 2017). “Boris Johnson caught on camera reciting Kipling in Myanmar temple”. The Guardian. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
375. ^ “Boris Johnson Libya ‘dead bodies’ comment provokes anger”. BBC News. 4 October 2017. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
376. ^ “Is Boris Johnson really unsackable?”. The Economist. 5 October 2017. Archived from the original on 30 April 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
377. ^ “Boris Johnson refuses to condemn police violence in Catalonia”. The Independent. 2 October 2017.
378. ^ “The Kremlin conundrum facing Boris Johnson”. The Times. 23 July 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
379. ^ “What has Boris Johnson said about other countries and their leaders?”. BBC News. 24 July 2019.
380. ^ “PM under pressure over Russian spy case”. BBC News. 12 March 2018. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
381. ^ “Boris Johnson accused of making misleading Russia Novichok claim in DW interview”. Deutsche Welle. 4 April 2018.
382. ^ Wintour, Patrick (21 March 2018). “Boris Johnson compares Russian World Cup to Hitler’s 1936 Olympics”. The Guardian. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
383. ^ Osborne, Samuel (21 March 2018). “Sergei Skripal: Chemical weapons inspectors arrive in Salisbury to investigate nerve agent attack”. The Independent. Archived from the original on 19 June 2018.
384. ^ “Boris Johnson joins US in criticising Russia to Germany gas pipeline”. The Guardian. 22 May 2018.
385. ^ “Direct Cargo Flights from Dhaka: UK to lift ban shortly”. The Daily Star. 10 February 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
386. ^ “Boris Johnson for quick repatriation of Rohingyas”. Dhaka Tribune. 9 February 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
387. ^ “UK: Turkey has legitimate interest in border security”. Anadolu Agency. 22 January 2018.
388. ^ Johnson, Boris (15 September 2017). “My vision for a bold, thriving Britain enabled by Brexit”. The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 15 September 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
389. ^ Asthana, Anushka (17 September 2017). “Boris Johnson left isolated as row grows over £350m post-Brexit claim”. The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
390. ^ Jump up to:^a b “Brexit: Boris Johnson and stats chief in row over £350m figure”. BBC News.
391. ^ “Boris Johnson denies plot to topple UK PM Theresa May”. Archived from the original on 11 June 2017. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
392. ^ Maidment, Jack (28 February 2018). “Boris Johnson accuses Remainers of trying to use Irish border issue to stop the UK leaving the EU”. The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
393. ^ “Speaker tells Johnson off for ‘sexism'”. BBC News. 27 March 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
394. ^ Crisp, James; Foster, Peter; Rayner, Gordon (23 June 2018). “EU diplomats shocked by Boris’s ‘four-letter reply’ to business concerns about Brexit”. The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 23 June 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
395. ^ “Enough already: in the national interest, we must stop a hard Brexit”. The Guardian. 24 June 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
396. ^ “EU diplomats reveal Boris Johnson said ‘f**k business’ over Brexit fears”. The National. 23 June 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
397. ^ “Johnson challenged over ‘Brexit expletive'”. BBC News. 26 June 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
398. ^ “Boris Johnson under fire after calling Trump’s Jerusalem embassy move a ‘moment of opportunity’ for peace”. The Independent. 23 January 2018.
399. ^ “Britain condemns ‘anti-Israel bias’ at UN Human Rights Council”. The Times of Israel. 18 June 2018.
400. ^ Pitas, Costas (8 June 2018). “Brace for a possible ‘Brexit meltdown’ but don’t panic, Johnson says -BuzzFeed”. Reuters. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
401. ^ “Boris and Donald: A very special relationship”. Politico. 13 December 2019.
402. ^ “At-a-glance: The new UK Brexit plan agreed at Chequers”. BBC News. 7 July 2018.
403. ^ Stewart, Heather (9 July 2018). “Brexit secretary David Davis resigns plunging government into crisis”. The Guardian. London.
404. ^ Stewart, Heather; Crerar, Pippa; Sabbagh, Dan (9 July 2018). “May’s plan ‘sticks in the throat’, says Boris Johnson as he resigns over Brexit”. The Guardian. London.
405. ^ “Johnson: It is not too late to save Brexit”. BBC News. 18 July 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
406. ^ Feder, J. Lester (25 July 2018). “Boris Johnson Has Been Privately Talking To Steve Bannon As They Plot Their Next Moves”. Buzzfeed News.
407. ^ Wright, Oliver (26 July 2018). “Drone strikes are retribution for atrocities, Boris Johnson suggests”. The Times. London.
408. ^ “Boris Johnson under attack over Turkey claim”. ITV News. 18 January 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
409. ^ “Boris Johnson hits out at police spending on historic child abuse probes”. The Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
410. ^ “Boris Johnson historical child sex abuse comments ‘horrific'”. BBC News. 13 March 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
411. ^ Jump up to:^a b “ACoBA Letter to Johnson” (PDF). 8 August 2018.
412. ^ “Johnson’s Telegraph contract broke rules”. BBC News. 9 August 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
413. ^ Bienkov, Adam (6 December 2018). “Boris Johnson ordered to apologise to Parliament for failing to declare earnings”. Business Insider. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
414. ^ Walker, Peter (9 September 2018). “Tories condemn Boris Johnson for Brexit ‘suicide vest’ remarks”. The Guardian. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
415. ^ “Open warfare between top Tories over Boris Johnson ‘suicide vest’ jibe at May”. The Independent. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
416. ^ Johnson, Boris (6 January 2019). “The British people won’t be scared into backing a woeful Brexit deal nobody voted for”. The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 7 January 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
417. ^ “00154-19 Stirling v The Daily Telegraph”. Independent Press Standards Organisation. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
418. ^ “Johnson confirms bid for Tory leadership”. BBC News. 16 May 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
419. ^ “Full text: Boris Johnson launches his Tory leadership campaign”. The Spectator. 12 June 2019.
420. ^ Shipman, Tim; Wheeler, Caroline; Urwin, Rosamund (25 August 2019). “Boris Johnson threatens EU over Brexit divorce bill and raises general election stakes”. The Times. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
421. ^ Heffer, Greg (26 August 2019). “Boris Johnson: ‘Chances of Brexit deal improving now my messages have landed'”. Sky News. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
422. ^ “Boris Johnson backs down on key campaign promises during Tory leadership debate”. The Independent. 18 June 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
423. ^ “Tory MPs choosing leadership final two”. 20 June 2019. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
424. ^ “The next UK prime minister: the odds and polls”. The Week UK.
425. ^ “‘Tactical voting’ claim in Tory leader poll”. BBC News. 21 June 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
426. ^ “Hunt to face Johnson in Tory leader race”. BBC News. 20 June 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
427. ^ Stewart, Heather (23 July 2019). “Boris Johnson elected new Tory leader”. The Guardian. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
428. ^ “Boris Johnson Becomes First US born Prime Minister of Britain”. The American. United Kingdom. 23 July 2019.
429. ^ “Who are Boris Johnson’s key advisers?”. BBC News. 30 July 2019.
430. ^ Sparrow, Andrew (24 July 2019). “Boris Johnson cabinet: Sajid Javid, Priti Patel and Dominic Raab given top jobs – live news”. The Guardian.
431. ^ Westlake, M. (2020). Outside the EU: Options for Britain. Agenda Publishing. pp. 168–169. ISBN 978-1-78821-312-7. JSTOR j.ctv16qjx9d.20.
432. ^ Woodcock, Andrews (29 July 2019). “Boris Johnson set for Brexit deadlock after admitting no progress made with EU withdrawal agreement”. The Independent. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
433. ^ “Brexit: £2.1bn extra for no-deal planning”. BBC News. 1 August 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
434. ^ Heather Stewart, Severin Carrell and Jennifer Rankin (29 August 2019). “Time to step up tempo of Brexit talks, says bullish Boris Johnson”. The Guardian. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
435. ^ Elgot, Jessica; Stewart, Heather (28 August 2019). “Boris Johnson asks Queen to suspend parliament”. The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
436. ^ “Brexit: Queen consents to suspension of parliament for five weeks – live news”. The Guardian. 28 August 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
437. ^ Taylor, Simon; Graham, Chris (29 August 2019). “‘A very British coup’: How Europe reacted to Boris Johnson suspending parliament in Brexit push”. The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
438. ^ “Parliament suspension: Thousands protest across the UK”. BBC. 31 August 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
439. ^ Ferguson, Donna; Murphy, Simon; Townsend, Mark; Wall, Tom (31 August 2019). “From Bodmin to Berlin, crowds vent their fury at Boris Johnson’s ‘coup'”. The Observer. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
440. ^ MacAskill, Andrew; James, William (30 August 2019). “Factbox: UK government ensnared in court battles over suspending parliament”. Reuters. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
441. ^ Carrell, Severin (11 September 2019). “Scottish judges rule Boris Johnson’s prorogation unlawful”. The Guardian. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
442. ^ “Brexit: Scottish judges rule Parliament suspension is unlawful”. BBC News. 11 September 2019. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
443. ^ “Johnson denies lying to queen; court rejects Brexit case”. 6News. 12 September 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
444. ^ Bowcott, Owen (24 September 2019). “Boris Johnson’s suspension of parliament unlawful, supreme court rules”. The Guardian. London. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
445. ^ “Supreme Court: Suspending Parliament was unlawful, judges rule”. BBC News. London. 24 September 2019. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
446. ^ R (Miller) (Appellant) v The Prime Minister (Respondent) and Cherry & Ors (Respondents) v Advocate General for Scotland (Appellant) (Scotland), [2019] UKSC 41 (24 September 2019).
447. ^ Rayner, Gordon; Sheridan, Danielle (3 September 2019). “Brexit vote result: Boris Johnson demands general election after rebel MPs seize control of Commons agenda”. The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
448. ^ “MPs back bill aimed at blocking no-deal Brexit”. 4 September 2019. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
449. ^ “Johnson’s call for general election rejected by MPs”. 4 September 2019. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
450. ^ “Brexit: Boris Johnson and Leo Varadkar ‘can see pathway to a deal'”. BBC News. 10 October 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
451. ^ “Brexit: What is in Boris Johnson’s new deal with the EU?”. BBC News. 21 October 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
452. ^ “Brexit: EU and UK reach deal but DUP refuses support”. BBC News. 17 October 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
453. ^ Parker, George; Brunsden, Jim (11 October 2019). “How Boris Johnson moved to break the Brexit deadlock”. Financial Times. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
454. ^ “Boris Johnson says EU migrants have been ‘treating UK as part of their own country’ for too long”. The Irish Post. 9 December 2019.
455. ^ “Boris Johnson faces backlash and claims of racism after saying migrants should not ‘treat UK as their own'”. The Independent. 9 December 2019.
456. ^ Jump up to:^a b “Boris Johnson: Does his cabinet reflect ‘modern Britain’?”. BBC News. 25 July 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
457. ^ Swinford, Steven; Chorley, Matt (25 July 2019). “Boris Johnson the Godfather takes his retribution in massacre of cabinet ministers”. The Times. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
458. ^ Syal, Rajeev (24 July 2019). “‘Summer’s day massacre’ may spell backbench trouble for Boris Johnson”. The Guardian. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
459. ^ Woodcock, Andrew (25 July 2019). “Boris Johnson dismantles cabinet in reshuffle, building government around people who delivered Brexit vote”. Independent. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
460. ^ Lyons, Kate (25 July 2019). “‘Cabinet massacre’: what the papers say about Boris Johnson’s arrival in No 10”. The Guardian. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
461. ^ Murphy, Sean (26 July 2019). “Boris Johnson gives himself ‘Minister for the Union’ title”. The Scotsman. Archived from the original on 26 July 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
462. ^ Reality Check Team (5 August 2019). “Do Boris Johnson’s tax and spending plans add up?”. BBC News.
463. ^ Buchan, Lizzy (8 August 2019). “Brexit: Boris Johnson fuels early election speculation as chancellor fast-tracks spending review”. The Independent.
464. ^ Biggs, Stuart (4 August 2019). “Johnson’s Spending Puts U.K. Parties on Alert for Snap Election”. Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg.
465. ^ “Boris Johnson loses majority after Tory MP defects during speech”. The Independent. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
466. ^ “Twenty-one Tory rebels lose party whip after backing bid to block no-deal Brexit”. PoliticsHome.com. 4 September 2019. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
467. ^ “Restoration of Conservative Whip”. BBC News. 29 October 2019.
468. ^ Jump up to:^a b “PM’s brother quits as Tory MP and minister”. BBC News. 5 September 2019. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
469. ^ Shipman, Tim (7 September 2019). “Exclusive: Amber Rudd resigns from cabinet and quits Tories”. The Sunday Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
470. ^ “General Election 2019: What’s behind the Conservative victory?”. BBC News.
471. ^ Perrigo, Billy (13 December 2019). “‘Get Brexit Done.’ The Slogan That Won Britain’s Election”. Time. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
472. ^ “Sajid Javid resigns as chancellor”. BBC News. 13 February 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
473. ^ Walker, Peter (13 February 2020). “Smith, Leadsom and McVey out as Johnson reshuffles cabinet”. The Guardian.
474. ^ “Cabinet reshuffle: Sajid Javid resigns as chancellor”. BBC News. 13 February 2020.
475. ^ “Cabinet reshuffle: Raab moved from foreign secretary to deputy PM”. BBC News. 15 September 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
476. ^ Heffer, Greg (15 September 2021). “Cabinet reshuffle: Gavin Williamson sacked and Dominic Raab moved from foreign secretary”. Sky News. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
477. ^ Stewart, Heather; Walker, Peter (20 March 2020). “Boris Johnson announces closure of all UK pubs and restaurants”. The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
478. ^ Siad, Arnaud. “Analysis: A short list of Boris Johnson’s U-turns on the pandemic”. CNN. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
479. ^ Rawnsley, Andrew (20 December 2020). “With his sudden U-turn over Christmas, Boris Johnson caps a year of debacles”. The Guardian. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
480. ^ Jump up to:^a b Syal, Rajeev (20 December 2020). “Boris Johnson’s Covid flip-flops: the pledges upended by reality”. The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
481. ^ Jump up to:^a b Woodyatt, Amy; Isaac, Lindsay (20 December 2020). “Boris Johnson backtracks on relaxing Christmas rules after scientists warn new Covid-19 variant is spreading faster”. CNN. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
482. ^ Jump up to:^a b “Ministers frustrated with PM’s ‘mistakes’ ahead of Covid second wave”. BBC News. 15 March 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
483. ^ “Covid: The inside story of the government’s battle against the virus”. BBC News. 15 March 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
484. ^ Calvert, Jonathan; Arbuthnot, George; Leake, Jonathan. “Coronavirus: 38 days when Britain sleepwalked into disaster”. The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
485. ^ Jump up to:^a b c d “50,000 COVID-19 deaths and rising. How the UK keeps failing”. Reuters. 24 November 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
486. ^ Walker, Peter (19 April 2020). “Boris Johnson missed five coronavirus Cobra meetings, Michael Gove says”. The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
487. ^ Helm, Toby; Graham-Harrison, Emma; McKie, Robin (19 April 2020). “How did Britain get its coronavirus response so wrong?”. The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
488. ^ “Coronavirus: What are the lockdown measures across Europe?”. Deutsche Welle. 1 April 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
489. ^ Estimating the number of infections and the impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions on COVID-19 in 11 European countries (PDF). Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology (Report). Imperial College London. 30 March 2020. p. 5. doi:10.25561/77731. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
490. ^ “Scientists turn on Boris Johnson over UK’s coronavirus response”. Politico. 10 June 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
491. ^ Sandle, Andrew MacAskill, Paul (25 January 2021). “Anger and grief as United Kingdom’s COVID-19 death toll nears 100,000”. Reuters. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
492. ^ Yong, Ed (16 March 2020). “The U.K.’s Coronavirus ‘Herd Immunity’ Debacle”. The Atlantic. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
493. ^ Mason, Rowena (5 May 2020). “Boris Johnson boasted of shaking hands on day Sage warned not to”. The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
494. ^ “Coronavirus: Boris Johnson was shaking hands as some scientists were calling for it to stop”. Sky News. 5 May 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
495. ^ Wildman, Sam (4 March 2020). “Silence over Boris Johnson coronavirus claim following KGH visit”. Northamptonshire Telegraph. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
496. ^ Payne, Sebastian; Cookson, Clive (5 May 2020). “Boris Johnson shook hands ‘continuously’ despite science panel warnings”. Financial Times. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
497. ^ Mendick, Robert (20 March 2020). “Boris Johnson announces ‘extraordinary’ closure of UK’s pubs and restaurants in coronavirus shutdown”. Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
498. ^ O’Toole, Fintan (11 April 2020). “Coronavirus has exposed the myth of British exceptionalism”. The Guardian. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
499. ^ Picheta, Rob (24 March 2020). “Boris Johnson issues stay-at-home order, sending UK into lockdown to fight coronavirus pandemic”. CNN. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
500. ^ “PM Boris Johnson tests positive for coronavirus”. BBC News. 27 March 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
501. ^ “PM admitted to hospital over virus symptoms”. BBC News. 5 April 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
502. ^ “UK PM Boris Johnson taken to intensive care”. BBC News. 6 April 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
503. ^ Jump up to:^a b Rawlinson, Kevin (6 April 2020). “Coronavirus: Boris Johnson taken into intensive care – live updates”. The Guardian. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
504. ^ “UK PM Johnson leaves intensive care, remains under observation”. Reuters. 9 April 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
505. ^ “Boris Johnson discharged from hospital”. BBC News. 12 April 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
506. ^ “Coronavirus: Boris Johnson’s return to work ‘a boost for the country'”. BBC News. 26 April 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
507. ^ “U.K.’s Boris Johnson says doctors prepared to announce his death as he fought COVID-19”. NBC News. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
508. ^ “A site for sore eyes? How Dominic Cummings put Barnard Castle on the map”. The Guardian. 26 May 2020. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
509. ^ “No 10 ‘chaos’ as ‘defiant’ PM defends Cummings”. BBC News. BBC. 25 May 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
510. ^ Keating, Joshua (26 May 2020). “Why Is the U.K. in an Uproar Over a Boris Johnson Adviser’s COVID Road Trip?”. Slate. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
511. ^ Sebastian Payne (24 May 2020). “Boris Johnson backs Dominic Cummings over lockdown breach”. Financial Times. Archived from the original on 24 May 2020.
512. ^ Fancourt, Daisy; Steptoe, Andrew; Wright, Liam (15 August 2020). “The Cummings effect: politics, trust, and behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic”. The Lancet. 396 (10249): 464–465. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31690-1. ISSN 0140-6736. PMID 32771083.
513. ^ Knapton, Sarah (6 August 2020). “‘Dominic Cummings effect’ has led to major loss of confidence in Government, study reveals”. The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 7 August 2020. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
514. ^ Pogrund, Gabriel; Calver, Tom (15 November 2020). “Chumocracy first in line as ministers splash Covid cash”. The Sunday Times. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
515. ^ “‘Utter shambles’: GPs and medics decry NHS test-and-trace system”. The Guardian. 14 September 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
516. ^ “Covid: NHS Test and Trace needs to improve, PM concedes”. BBC News. 22 October 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
517. ^ Ray, Siladitya. “Report: Boris Johnson Said U.K. Should ‘Ignore’ Covid-19 At The Start Of The Pandemic”. Forbes. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
518. ^ Rayner, Gordon (26 April 2021). “‘Let the bodies pile high’: What really happened on night Boris Johnson was accused of outburst”. The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
519. ^ “Covid: Boris Johnson’s ‘bodies pile high’ comments prompt criticism”. BBC News. 26 April 2021. Archived from the original on 26 April 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
520. ^ Peston, Robert (26 April 2021). “Johnson ‘did make bodies pile high in their thousands’ comment, writes Peston”. ITV News. Archived from the original on 27 April 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
521. ^ “U.K. Bets 2 Million Vaccine Shots a Week Will End Lockdown”. Bloomberg. 4 January 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
522. ^ “Pressure on hospitals ‘at a really dangerous point'”. BBC News. 18 December 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
523. ^ Zimmer, Carl; Carey, Benedict (21 December 2020). “The U.K. Coronavirus Variant: What We Know”. The New York Times. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
524. ^ “Covid: Russia begins vaccinations in Moscow”. BBC News. 5 December 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
525. ^ Baraniuk, Chris (18 February 2021). “Covid-19: How the UK vaccine rollout delivered success, so far”. BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.). 372: n421. doi:10.1136/bmj.n421. PMID 33602672. S2CID 231946710. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
526. ^ “Covid-19: Record day for UK with 711,156 vaccinations given”. BBC News. 20 March 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
527. ^ “Covid: England’s third national lockdown legally comes into force”. BBC News. 6 January 2022. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
528. ^ “UK Covid deaths: Why the 100,000 toll is so bad”. BBC News. 26 January 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
529. ^ “Covid deaths: UK passes milestone of 100,000”. BBC News. 26 January 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
530. ^ “Johnson: England to lift last virus restrictions on July 19”. AP News. 12 July 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
531. ^ Ellyatt, Holly (19 July 2021). “England takes leap into the unknown, lifting Covid rules as cases surge”. CNBC. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
532. ^ Peter Walker (17 September 2021). “Johnson’s revamped cabinet cram into office – with no masks”. The Guardian. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
533. ^ “Dominic Raab defends Boris Johnson after PM is pictured not wearing mask on hospital visit”. Sky News. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
534. ^ Gillett, Francesca; Lee, Dulcie (8 December 2021). “Covid: New Plan B rules on working from home and masks announced for England”. BBC News.
535. ^ Swinford, Steven; Zeffman, Henry (14 December 2021). “Johnson suffers biggest rebellion of premiership”. The Times.
536. ^ Penna, Dominic; Fisher, Lucy; Nanu, Maighna (14 December 2021). “Politics latest news: Boris Johnson suffers huge rebellion as MPs vote in favour of Covid passports”. The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022.
537. ^ “Lee Cain: Top Boris Johnson aide quits amid infighting at No. 10”. BBC News. 12 November 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
538. ^ Walker, Peter; Sabbagh, Dan; Syal, Rajeev (13 November 2020). “Boris Johnson boots out top adviser Dominic Cummings”. The Guardian. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
539. ^ Landler, Mark; Castle, Stephen (13 November 2020). “Dominic Cummings, Powerful Aide to Boris Johnson, Resigns, Report Says”. The New York Times. London. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
540. ^ “Dominic Cummings: Thousands died needlessly after Covid mistakes”. BBC News. 26 May 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
541. ^ Kuenssberg, Laura (26 May 2021). “Dominic Cummings’ accusations can not easily be dismissed”. BBC News. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
542. ^ Walker, Peter (26 May 2021). “Boris Johnson refuses to deny dismissing Covid as ‘scare story'”. The Guardian. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
543. ^ Sparrow, Andrew; Davies, Caroline (27 May 2021). “UK Covid: Hancock refuses to deny telling No 10 patients would be tested before discharge into care homes – as it happened”. The Guardian. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
544. ^ Jump up to:^a b Brown, Faye (11 May 2021). “All the new laws unveiled in the Queen’s Speech today”. Metro. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
545. ^ Wakefield, Jane (12 May 2021). “Government lays out plans to protect users online”. BBC News. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
546. ^ “Downing Street refurbishment: What is the row over Boris Johnson’s flat?”. BBC News. 28 April 2021. Archived from the original on 29 April 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
547. ^ Walker, Peter; Allegretti, Aubrey (23 April 2021). “‘Mad and totally unethical’: Dominic Cummings hits out at Boris Johnson”. The Guardian. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
548. ^ Cummings, Dominic (23 April 2021). “Statement regarding No10 claims today”. Dominic Cummings’s Blog. Archived from the original on 30 April 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
549. ^ “Boris Johnson’s flat: Top official to review funding of revamp”. BBC News. 27 April 2021. Archived from the original on 29 April 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
550. ^ “Electoral Commission to investigate Boris Johnson’s Downing Street flat renovations”. BBC News. 28 April 2021. Archived from the original on 28 April 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
551. ^ Allegretti, Aubrey; Elgot, Jessica (28 April 2021). “Electoral Commission launches inquiry into Boris Johnson flat refurb”. The Guardian. Archived from the original on 29 April 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
552. ^ Wright, Oliver; Swinford, Steven; Zeffman, Henry (29 April 2021). “Downing St concern at ‘paper trail’ over Boris Johnson’s flat redecoration”. The Times. Archived from the original on 28 April 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
553. ^ “Commons Chamber 28th April 2021”. UK Parliament. Archived from the original on 30 April 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
554. ^ Walker, Peter; Allegretti, Aubrey (28 May 2021). “Boris Johnson acted unwisely over flat refurbishment, report finds”. The Guardian. Archived from the original on 28 May 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
555. ^ “Downing Street flat: PM cleared of misconduct but acted unwisely, says watchdog”. BBC News. 29 May 2021. Archived from the original on 28 May 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
556. ^ Skopeliti, Clea (29 May 2021). “Angela Rayner demands detailed answers on Boris Johnson’s refurb”. The Guardian. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
557. ^ Devlin, Kate (29 May 2021). “Labour demands full details of Downing Street flat renovations”. Independent. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
558. ^ Quinn, Ben (9 December 2021). “Downing Street refurb: the money trail, inquiries and questions still to answer”. The Guardian.
559. ^ Jump up to:^a b c Rodger, Hannah (9 December 2021). “Tories fined over £52,000 undeclared donation for Boris Johnson’s luxury Downing Street flat refurb”. The Herald. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
560. ^ “As fuel pumps remain dry, UK’s Johnson says plans in place for supply chains”. Reuters. 29 September 2021.
561. ^ “Boris Johnson dismisses fears over tough winter”. BBC News. 21 September 2021.
562. ^ Isaac, Anna (5 October 2021). “Boris Johnson calls inflation fears ‘unfounded’ but economists disagree”. The Independent.
563. ^ Maclellan, Kylie (3 November 2021). “UK PM’s party slammed for backing overhaul of system that polices lawmakers”. Reuters. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
564. ^ “Owen Paterson: Anger as Tory MP avoids suspension in rule shake-up”. BBC News. 3 November 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
565. ^ Woodcock, Andrew (3 November 2021). “Tories vote to tear up sleaze rules after MP found guilty of paid lobbying”. The Independent. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
566. ^ “Owen Paterson row: Government U-turn over MPs’ conduct plan”. BBC News. BBC. 4 November 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
567. ^ “Tory MP Owen Paterson resigns amid standards row”. BBC News. 4 November 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
568. ^ Tories lose North Shropshire seat they held for nearly 200 years BBC
569. ^ McGuinness, Alan (17 December 2021). “North Shropshire: Liberal Democrats pull off shock win as Tory by-election defeat piles further pressure on Boris Johnson”. Sky News. Archived from the original on 17 December 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
570. ^ Stone, Jon (7 December 2021). “Boris Johnson says ‘rules were followed’ at No 10 party as Sunak denies attending”. The Independent.
571. ^ “Cheese and wine? UK PM’s staff joked about alleged lockdown party”. Reuters. 7 December 2021.
572. ^ Walker, Peter; Allegretti, Aubrey; Grierson, Jamie (7 December 2021). “PM accused of lying after No 10 officials caught joking about Christmas party”. The Guardian. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
573. ^ “PMQs: Boris Johnson sorry for offence caused by aides joking about lockdown party”. BBC News. 8 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
574. ^ Jump up to:^a b Brand, Paul (10 January 2022). “Email proves Downing Street staff held drinks party at height of lockdown”. ITV News. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
575. ^ Keay, Lara (12 January 2022). “What were the rules on 20 May 2020, what happened in Downing Street, and was Boris Johnson at the party?”. Sky News. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
576. ^ “‘Is this for real?’ No escape for No 10 from party claims”. BBC News. 10 January 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
577. ^ “No. 10 staff intervened to stop Downing Street events”. BBC News. 11 January 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
578. ^ “Downing Street party: PM to face MPs following revelations”. BBC News. 12 January 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
579. ^ Walker, Peter; Stewart, Heather (12 January 2022). “Boris Johnson admits attending Downing Street party during lockdown”. The Guardian. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
580. ^ “Boris Johnson admits he attended lockdown-breaking party but claims he thought it was work event”. ITV News. 12 January 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
581. ^ Jump up to:^a b “Boris Johnson faces calls to quit after lockdown party apology”. BBC News. 12 January 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
582. ^ “Boris Johnson: Senior Tories urge PM to quit after party apology”. BBC News. 13 January 2022.
583. ^ “Bury South MP Christian Wakeford resigns from Conservative to join Labour”. Bury Times. 19 January 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
584. ^ Merrick, Rob (19 January 2022). “‘In the name of God, go’: Tory MP David Davis tells Boris Johnson to quit”. The Independent. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
585. ^ “Boris Johnson: Tory MP defects as ex-minister tells Johnson to go”. BBC News. 19 January 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
586. ^ “Police to investigate No 10 lockdown parties”. 25 January 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
587. ^ “Sue Gray: No 10 pledges updated report after police inquiry finishes”. BBC News. BBC. 31 January 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
588. ^ Zeffman, Henry (3 February 2022). Wright, Oliver; Swinford, Steven (eds.). “Crisis for Boris Johnson as four aides quit in one day”. The Times.
589. ^ “Boris Johnson’s policy chief Munira Mirza resigns over PM’s Savile remarks”. BBC News. 3 February 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
590. ^ “Boris Johnson tries to ‘clarify’ Jimmy Savile ‘slur’ against Sir Keir Starmer after days of criticism”. Sky News. 3 February 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
591. ^ Jump up to:^a b “Keir Starmer: Two arrested after protesters surround Labour leader”. BBC News. 7 February 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
592. ^ Mason, Rowena; Elgot, Jessica (7 February 2022). “MPs blame Boris Johnson’s ‘poison’ after protesters mob Keir Starmer”. The Guardian. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
593. ^ Elgot, Jessica; Stewart, Heather (8 February 2022). “Johnson will not apologise for Jimmy Savile remark, says minister”. The Guardian. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
594. ^ “No 10 has no intention of apologising after protesters surround Sir Keir Starmer”. BBC News. 8 February 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
595. ^ Met investigates death threats against Keir Starmer in wake of Johnson’s Savile slur The Observer
596. ^ Pickard, Jim; Campbell, Peter (15 November 2020). “UK set to ban sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030”. Financial Times. Archived from the original on 14 November 2020. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
597. ^ “The key areas of Boris Johnson’s ‘green industrial revolution'”. The Guardian. 17 November 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
598. ^ “Boris Johnson: Climate change about jobs not ‘bunny hugging'”. BBC News. 22 April 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
599. ^ Harvey, Fiona (17 September 2021). “US and EU pledge 30% cut in methane emissions to limit global heating”. The Guardian. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
600. ^ Mason, Jeff; Alper, Alexandra (18 September 2021). “Biden asks world leaders to cut methane in climate fight”. Reuters. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
601. ^ “Boris Johnson accused of making impossible pledge for climate crisis summit”. The Independent. 19 January 2020. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
602. ^ “Rishi Sunak cuts taxes on domestic flights days before Cop26 climate summit”. The Independent. 27 October 2021. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
603. ^ Gair, Kieran (4 November 2021). “Boris Johnson flew in private jet for dinner at Garrick Club”. The Times.
604. ^ Harding, Luke; Walker, Peter (5 November 2021). “‘Like a clown’: what other countries thought of Boris Johnson at Cop26”. The Guardian.
605. ^ “Britain joins Germany in criticizing Macron’s Mercosur threat”. Reuters. 24 August 2019.
606. ^ “Amazon fires spark European rift at G7 over Mercosur trade deal”. Deutsche Welle. 24 August 2019.
607. ^ Analysis by Luke McGee. “UK’s ‘special relationship’ with the US is more fragile than ever. Just when Boris Johnson is banking on it”. CNN.
608. ^ “Biden presidency could bring difficulties for US-UK special relationship”. Press Association. 7 November 2020.
609. ^ “Chagos Islands dispute: UK ‘threatened’ Mauritius”. BBC News. 27 August 2018.
610. ^ “Foreign Office quietly rejects International Court ruling to hand back Chagos Islands”. inews.co.uk. 18 June 2020.
611. ^ “Corbyn makes Chagos Islands pledge after UK branded ‘illegal colonial occupier'”. Belfast Telegraph. 22 November 2019.
612. ^ “‘Pro-China’ Boris Johnson ‘enthusiastic’ about belt and road plan”. Yahoo! News. 24 July 2019.
613. ^ “Hong Kong: UK makes citizenship offer to residents”. BBC News. 1 July 2020.
614. ^ “China warns UK ‘interfering’ in Hong Kong affairs will ‘backfire'”. Al-Jazeera. 3 June 2020.
615. ^ “Aukus: China denounces US-UK-Australia pact as irresponsible”. BBC News. 17 September 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
616. ^ “‘Donnez-moi un break’: Johnson deepens rift with France over defence deal”. The Guardian. 22 September 2021.
617. ^ Donaldson, Kitty (22 September 2021). “Boris Johnson Mocks French Outrage Over Submarine Spat”. Bloomberg.com.
618. ^ “Most of the remaining British troops have left Afghanistan, says Boris Johnson”. Mint. AFP. 8 July 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
619. ^ “Boris Johnson urges international unity over Taliban as he recalls parliament”. The Guardian. 15 August 2021.
620. ^ “Afghanistan crisis: Johnson took holiday as Kabul was about to fall”. The Guardian. 16 August 2021.
621. ^ “Blame on Biden? UK PM Johnson says US decision to pull out of Afghanistan ‘accelerated’ events”. The Week. 16 August 2021.
622. ^ “British government details plan to settle 20,000 Afghan refugees in heated emergency debate”. CBC News. 18 August 2021.
623. ^ Jump up to:^a b c Mueller, Benjamin; Robins, Peter (8 November 2021). “What Is Brexit? And How Is It Going?”. The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
624. ^ “‘Boris the betrayer’ has swindled us over Brexit, England’s fishermen say”. Reuters. 30 December 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
625. ^ Sparrow, Andrew (16 October 2020). “Boris Johnson: UK must prepare for no-deal Brexit and ‘Australia-style’ trade – UK politics live”. The Guardian. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
626. ^ Boffey, Daniel; O’Carroll, Lisa (24 December 2020). “UK and EU agree Brexit trade deal”. The Guardian. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
627. ^ “Boris Johnson warns EU to choose between Ukraine and Nord Stream 2”. Financial Times. 15 November 2021.
628. ^ “Boris Johnson visits Ukraine for talks as Russian invasion fears rise”. BBC News. 1 February 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
629. ^ Sheridan, Danielle (31 January 2022). “Boris Johnson puts Vladimir Putin on hold, allowing France to seize diplomatic initiative”. The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
630. ^ “Ukraine crisis: What’s at stake for the UK?”. BBC News. 30 January 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
631. ^ “Ukraine-Russia tensions: British troops ‘unlikely’ to fight – Truss”. BBC News. 30 January 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
632. ^ Scott, Geraldine; Clark, Dave (1 February 2022). “Boris Johnson urges Putin to avoid ‘bloodshed’ in Ukraine”. WalesOnline. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
633. ^ “UK, Russian leaders discuss Ukraine crisis in phone call”. Al Jazeera. 2 February 2022.
634. ^ “Johnson-Putin call rescheduled as PM’s diplomacy drive falters”. the Guardian. 1 February 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
635. ^ Jump up to:^a b “British PM Says Europe In Most Serious Security Crisis In Decades Over Ukraine”. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 10 February 2022.
636. ^ “Johnson warns threat of imminent invasion of Ukraine is ‘extremely concerning'”. The Independent. 14 February 2022.
637. ^ “Election Data 1997”. Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
638. ^ “BBC NEWS>VOTE 2001>Results and Constituencies>Clwyd South”. Vote 2001. BBC News. 1 May 1997. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
639. ^ Jump up to:^a b Ask Aristotle: Henley, guardian.co.uk
640. ^ “Election Data 2001”. Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
641. ^ “Election Data 2005”. Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
642. ^ “Election Data 2015”. Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
643. ^ “London Borough of Hillingdon – Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency results 2015”. Government of the United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 5 September 2017. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
644. ^ “Uxbridge & Ruislip South parliamentary constituency – Election 2015 – BBC News”. BBC.
645. ^ “VOTE FOR CHRIS SUMMERS”. VOTE FOR CHRIS SUMMERS.
646. ^ “Archived copy”. Archived from the original on 8 January 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
647. ^ “TUSC parliamentary candidates in May 2015” (PDF). Tusc.org. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
648. ^ Jump up to:^{a b c d e f} “Archived copy”. Archived from the original on 18 April 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
649. ^ “Monster Raving Loony’s Howling Laud Hope’s career”. BBC. 27 November 2014.
650. ^ Jump up to:^a b “Uxbridge & Ruislip South parliamentary constituency”. BBC News.
651. ^ http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7979/CBP-7979.pdf
652. ^ Jump up to:^a b c This independent candidate left the optional Description field blank on the “Statement of Persons Nominated” (PDF). London Borough of Hillingdon. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
653. ^ “I’m Standing!” (PDF). Retrieved 16 May 2021.
654. ^ Ferguson, Niall (15 December 2019). “It’s One Nation under Boris Johnson’s populist groove”. The Times. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
655. ^ Brogan, Benedict (29 April 2010). “Boris Johnson interview: My advice to David Cameron? I’ve made savings, so can you”. The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 22 December 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
656. ^ Parker, George (21 December 2014). “Boris Johnson aims to win back voters as ‘One Nation Tory'”. Financial Times. London. Archived from the original on 14 December 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
657. ^ Jump up to:^a b “Boris Johnson: Classic Tory or Political Maverick?”. Channel 4 News. 9 October 2012. Archived from the original on 18 March 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
658. ^ Hill, Dave (4 December 2008). “Mayor Boris, the liberal”. The Guardian. London, England. Archived from the original on 11 November 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
659. ^ “Generation Boris”. The Economist. London. 1 June 2013. Archived from the original on 3 January 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
660. ^ Gimson 2012, p. 136.
661. ^ Payne, Adam; Bienkov, Adam (23 May 2019). “Conservative moderates plan to take back control of Boris Johnson as prime minister”. Business Insider. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
662. ^ Gimson 2012, p. 342.
663. ^ Bourne, Ryan (23 July 2019). “Don’t lump Boris Johnson together with Donald Trump”. The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 23 July 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
664. ^ Hinsliff, Gaby (21 May 2019). “Want to stop Johnson? More Tories should follow Heseltine and join the resistance”. The Guardian. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
665. ^ Brownswell, James (23 July 2019). “Who is Boris Johnson, Britain’s new prime minister?”. Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 1 January 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
666. ^ Heseltine, Michael (12 September 2019). “Boris Johnson has no right to call himself a one-nation Conservative”. The Guardian.
667. ^ Jump up to:^a b Purnell 2011, p. 2.
668. ^ Collins, Philip (14 September 2017). “Britain’s New Gaullists”. Prospect. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
669. ^ Hirsh, Michael (28 June 2016). “Why the New Nationalists are Taking Over”. Politico.
670. ^ “Boris Johnson declares cancelling Brexit would be ‘utterly pathetic’ as he writes off Theresa May’s failed deal”. London Evening Standard. 18 January 2018.
671. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 52.
672. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 198.
673. ^ “May Faces Worst Government Defeat in 95 Years in Brexit Vote”. Bloomberg. 14 January 2018.
674. ^ “Boris Johnson: Brexit delay would be seen as ‘an elite conspiracy to thwart Brexit'”. Talkradio. 18 January 2018.
675. ^ Eysenck, Juliet; Wilkinson, Michael (10 June 2016). “ITV debate: Boris Johnson says Britain will ‘prosper as never before’ out of EU as Tory minister Amber Rudd goes on attack over his ‘No 10’ ambition”. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
676. ^ “London’s Popular And Populist Mayor Makes The Case For Leaving The EU”. NPR. 3 May 2016.
677. ^ Lyall, Sarah (30 June 2016). “Luck Runs Out for a Leader of ‘Brexit’ Campaign”. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 1 July 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
678. ^ Corbett, Steve (1 January 2016). “The Social Consequences of Brexit for the UK and Europe: Euroscepticism, Populism, Nationalism, and Societal Division”. The International Journal of Social Quality. 6 (1): 15. doi:10.3167/IJSQ.2016.060102. JSTOR 26179355.
679. ^ Evans, Richard J. (13 November 2014). “”One man who made history” by another who seems just to make it up: Boris on Churchill”. New Statesman.
680. ^ Jump up to:^a b Aron, Jacob. “New prime minister Boris Johnson’s climate change record”. New Scientist. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
681. ^ Jump up to:^a b “What is Boris Johnson’s record on climate change?”. The Week UK. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
682. ^ “Boris Johnson”. TheyWorkForYou. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
683. ^ Jump up to:^a b “What Does Boris Johnson Really Think About Climate Change?”. Bloomberg.com. 5 February 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
684. ^ Jump up to:^a b “Climate change: The science briefing that convinced Boris Johnson”. BBC News. 2 February 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
685. ^ Jump up to:^a b Ward, Bob (10 June 2021). “Boris Johnson’s climate change “scepticism” is an embarrassment to London’s scientists”. New Statesman. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
686. ^ Vaughan, Adam (11 June 2019). “UK commits to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050”. New Scientist. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
687. ^ Gatten, Emma (24 September 2020). “Boris Johnson warns against ‘napping’ on climate change”. The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
688. ^ “Could Scotland ever be ‘the Saudi Arabia of renewables’?”. BBC News. 2 November 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
689. ^ Dawson, Christine (24 September 2021). “Key climate finance pledges from UN General Assembly”. ESGclarity. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
690. ^ “COP26: World at one minute to midnight over climate change – Boris Johnson”. BBC News. 1 November 2021. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
691. ^ “COP26: Climate deal sounds the death knell for coal power – PM”. BBC News. 14 November 2021. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
692. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 25.
693. ^ Jump up to:^{a b c d e} Bienkov, Adam (14 February 2018). “All the times Boris Johnson has contradicted his own arguments for Brexit”. Business Insider. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
694. ^ Worthy, Ben; Bennister, Mark; Stafford, Max W. (1 March 2019). “Rebels Leading London: the mayoralties of Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson compared” (PDF). British Politics. 14 (1): 23–43. doi:10.1057/s41293-017-0069-1. ISSN 1746-9198. S2CID 158055383.
695. ^ “A secret pro-EU article Boris Johnson wrote before the referendum has been revealed”. The Independent. 15 October 2016. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
696. ^ Ross, Tim (23 May 2018). “Boris Johnson reopens post-Brexit immigration debate”. Bloomberg. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
697. ^ Mason, Rowena (26 May 2019). “Brexit: top Tories would bring down any PM who backs no deal”. The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
698. ^ @borisjohnson (25 June 2019). “If I become PM, we will leave the EU on 31 October, deal or no deal. Today I have asked @Jeremy_Hunt whether he will also commit to this date, no matter what. We must keep our promises to the British people and deliver Brexit – no ifs, no buts, and no second referendum” (Tweet) – via Twitter.
699. ^ “Britain’s Boris Johnson Appeals To EU To Drop ‘Irish Backstop’ Demand”. kcbx.org. 20 August 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
700. ^ “Johnson says Britain will not pay Brussels for no-deal Brexit”. New Europe. 27 August 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
701. ^ “Boris Johnson declares unionist views on trip to Northern Ireland”. BBC News. 7 November 2019. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
702. ^ “Northern Ireland to Scotland bridge plans ‘put to bed'”. 15 September 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
703. ^ Sheppard, Tommy. “Don’t fall for Boris Johnson’s big lie about the Internal Market Bill and its effect on devolution”. The Scotsman. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
704. ^ “Boris Johnson ‘called Scottish devolution disaster'”. BBC News. 17 November 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
705. ^ “Boris Johnson denies he wants to undermine Scottish devolution”. BBC News. 21 November 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
706. ^ Edwards & Isaby 2008, p. 43; Purnell 2011, p. 1.
707. ^ “The BoJo, Ken and Bri show”. New Statesman. London. 6 September 2007. Archived from the original on 5 December 2007. Retrieved 7 July 2010.
708. ^ Jump up to:^a b Purnell 2011, p. 91.
709. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 103.
710. ^ Jump up to:^a b Crines 2013, p. 1.
711. ^ Frost, Caroline (3 April 2013). “17 Things We Now Know About Boris Johnson, And His Worthiness, Or Not, To Be PM …” HuffPost. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
712. ^ Hill 2016, p. 31.
713. ^ Edwards & Isaby 2008, p. 74.
714. ^ Edwards & Isaby 2008, p. 74; Purnell 2011, p. 1; Gimson 2012, p. 301.
715. ^ Jump up to:^a b Purnell 2011, p. 3.
716. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 183.
717. ^ Gimson 2012, p. x.
718. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 214.
719. ^ Gimson 2012, p. 108.
720. ^ Gimson 2012, p. 258.
721. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 456.
722. ^ Jump up to:^a b Purnell 2011, p. 1.
723. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 15.
724. ^ Edwards & Isaby 2008, p. 43; Purnell 2011, p. 1; Gimson 2012, p. xiii.
725. ^ Gimson 2012, p. 301.
726. ^ Gimson 2012, p. 17.
727. ^ Purnell 2011, pp. 6–7.
728. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 26.
729. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 37.
730. ^ Boris Johnson: Is ‘Planet Boris’ finally going to implode? BBC
731. ^ Lamiat Sabin (15 February 2022). “John Bercow urges ‘narcissist’ Boris Johnson to ‘beetle off into the distance’ in scathing attack”. The Independent. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
732. ^ Watt, Holly (20 November 2014). “Boris Johnson could be hit with six-figure tax bill”. The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 21 November 2014. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
733. ^ Siddique, Haroon (20 November 2014). “New York-born London mayor Boris Johnson refuses to pay US tax bill”. The Guardian. London. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
734. ^ “London Mayor Boris Johnson agrees to pay US tax bill”. BBC News. 22 January 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
735. ^ Shipman, Tim (15 February 2015). “Crikey! Boris gives up White House to bid for No 10”. The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
736. ^ Wintour, Patrick (9 February 2017). “Boris Johnson among record number to renounce American citizenship in 2016”. The Guardian. London. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
737. ^ “Reading into the problem of illiteracy where ‘Street’ is often king”. The Irish Times. 22 July 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
738. ^ “Britain’s imperial prime minister”. The Economist. 20 February 2020. Archived from the original on 30 April 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
739. ^ “Boris: I took cocaine and cannabis”. Oxford Mail. 4 June 2007. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
740. ^ Edwards & Isaby 2008, pp. 144–145.
741. ^ Sanderson, Terry (26 April 2008). “Who would Jesus vote for?”. The Guardian. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
742. ^ Swinford, Steven (29 January 2015). “Boris Johnson: I am not a serious practicing Christian”. The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
743. ^ Pepinster, Catherine (26 September 2020). “As Boris Johnson’s godmother, I’m so pleased he has returned to Catholicism”. The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 26 September 2020. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
744. ^ Jump up to:^a b Shearing, Hazel; Snowdon, Kathryn (30 May 2021). “Boris Johnson marries Carrie Symonds at Westminster Cathedral”. BBC News. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
745. ^ Southworth, Phoebe; Malnick, Edward; Stanley, Tim (29 May 2021). “Boris Johnson wedding: How did Prime Minister marry Carrie Symonds in a Catholic church?”. The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
746. ^ Gledhill, Ruth. “Boris weds Carrie at Westminster Cathedral”. The Tablet. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
747. ^ Kidd, Patrick (23 July 2019). “Boris Johnson could prove more of a Chancer than his hero Pericles”. The Times.
748. ^ “Boris Johnson’s magniloquent tongue reaps political gold, linguists”. Reuters. 23 July 2019.
749. ^ “Boris Johnson’s confusing and contradictory religious history”. The Economist. 27 July 2019. Archived from the original on 28 July 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
750. ^ Hobson, Theo (4 August 2019). “What I learned talking to Boris Johnson about religion”. The Spectator.
751. ^ McTague, Tom (7 June 2021). “Boris Johnson Knows Exactly What He’s Doing”. The Atlantic. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
752. ^ Forsey, Zoe (9 December 2021). “Boris Johnson’s 7 children – lookalike son and love child from secret affair”. mirror.
753. ^ “Boris Johnson’s secret family: Prime Minister’s 3 marriages and 7 children revealed”. HELLO!. 13 December 2021.
754. ^ “What Do We Know About Boris Johnson’s Seven Children?”.
755. ^ Helyer-Donaldson, Rachel. “Boris Johnson’s first wife marries again”. The Week. London. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
756. ^ Sampson, Annabel (11 November 2019). “Who is Boris Johnson’s first wife, former Tatler cover girl Allegra Mostyn-Owen?”. Tatler. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
757. ^ McDonaugh, Melanie (29 May 2012). “‘He’s a better ex than he was a husband’, says Boris Johnson’s ex wife”. Evening Standard. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
758. ^ Malnick, Edward; Stanley, Tim; Southworth, Phoebe (30 May 2021). “Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds married in secret wedding ceremony at Westminster Cathedral”. The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
759. ^ Doward, Jamie (29 August 2004). “No dumb blond”. The Observer. London. Retrieved 7 July 2010.
760. ^ McSmith, Andy (13 February 2016). “Marina Wheeler, profile: The brains behind Boris Johnson”. The Independent. London. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
761. ^ “Boris celebrates Vaisakhi in Southall”. BackBoris.com. 6 April 2008. Archived from the original on 13 April 2008. Retrieved 3 May 2008.
762. ^ Gimson, Andrew (2006) [2007]. Boris: The Rise of Boris Johnson. Pocket Books [Simon & Schuster]. pp. 11–12, 26–27, 71, 118, 119, 254. ISBN 978-0-7432-7584-2.
763. ^ Wheeler, Brian (4 May 2008). “The Boris Johnson story”. BBC News. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
764. ^ Halliday, Josh (21 May 2013). “Public has right to know Boris Johnson fathered child during affair, court rules”. The Guardian. London. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
765. ^ Pitel, Laura (22 May 2013). “‘Boris lovechild’ can be public knowledge, appeal court rules”. The Times. London. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
766. ^ Young, Sarah (31 July 2021). “Boris Johnson: How many children does the prime minister have?”. The Independent. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
767. ^ Stewart, Helen (21 September 2021). “Boris Johnson admits he has six children”. The Guardian. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
768. ^ “Boris Johnson and wife to divorce”. BBC News. 7 September 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
769. ^ Ames, Jonathan (18 February 2020). “PM reaches financial settlement with estranged wife”. The Times. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
770. ^ Coke, Hope (9 November 2020). “Marina Wheeler opens up about life post-Boris Johnson”. Tatler. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
771. ^ “Jennifer Arcuri ‘admits to Boris Johnson affair”. The Guardian. 17 October 2020. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
772. ^ McKelvie, Geraldine (28 March 2021). “Jennifer Arcuri: Why I’ve decided to speak my truth about Boris Johnson”. Sunday Mirror. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
773. ^ Sommerlad, Joe (28 March 2021). “Jennifer Arcuri tells of ‘four-year affair’ with Boris Johnson and calls him ‘cowardly'”. The Independent. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
774. ^ “Carrie Symonds: Who is Boris Johnson’s partner?”. itv.com. 22 June 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
775. ^ “PM Johnson and Symonds engaged and expecting baby”. BBC News. 29 February 2020. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
776. ^ Braddick, Imogen (2 May 2020). “Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds name baby boy Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson after doctors who saved PM’s life”. Evening Standard. London. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
777. ^ Proctor, Kate (29 April 2020). “Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds announce birth of baby boy”. The Guardian. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
778. ^ “Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds announce birth of son”. BBC News. 29 April 2020. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
779. ^ Beech, Samantha (30 May 2021). “Boris Johnson marries Carrie Symonds in secret wedding”. CNN. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
780. ^ “Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds wed in ‘small ceremony’, No 10 confirms”. The Independent. 31 May 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
781. ^ “Carrie Johnson and Boris Johnson expecting second child”. BBC News. 31 July 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
782. ^ “Boris and Carrie Johnson announce name of new daughter”. BBC News. London. 16 December 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
783. ^ “Boris Johnson’s wife Carrie gives birth to second child”. Sky News. 9 December 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
784. ^ Byrnes, Sholto (27 March 2008). “Who is Boris Johnson?”. New Statesman. London. Archived from the original on 3 April 2008.
785. ^ “Family of influence behind Boris Johnson”. The Daily Telegraph. 3 May 2008. Archived from the original on 18 September 2012. Retrieved 5 May 2021. Boris Johnson’s mother: Charlotte Wahl, an artist, brings a more radical dimension to his political heritage. Her father Sir James Fawcett was a prominent barrister and member of the European Commission for Human Rights.
786. ^ Clapham, Andrew (1993). “Human Rights in the Private Sphere”. OUP. p. 186.
787. ^ “Leo Johnson, partner, PwC Sustainability and Climate Change” (Press release). PricewaterhouseCoopers. 15 January 2009. Archived from the original on 8 June 2013. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
788. ^ Bates, Stephen (14 May 2008). “People”. The Guardian. London.
789. ^ Martinson, Jane (27 April 2017). “Rachel Johnson joins Lib Dems in protest against Tory backing for Brexit”. The Guardian. London. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
790. ^ “Rachel Johnson and Gavin Esler to stand for Change UK”. 23 April 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019./
791. ^ Walden, Celia (11 April 2008). “Stanley Johnson: The man who made Boris”. The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
792. ^ Killen, Mary (March 2015). “Boris Johnson’s mother on her brilliant brood”. Tatler. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
793. ^ Edwards & Isaby 2008, p. 44; Purnell 2011, pp. 19–20; Gimson 2012, pp. 5–7.
794. ^ Acar, Özgen (20 June 2008). “Bir Baba Ocağı Ziyareti” [A Visit to Family Home]. Hürriyet Daily News (in Turkish). Istanbul. Archived from the original on 10 May 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
795. ^ Gökçe, Deniz (25 April 2016). “Obama ile Boris Johnson Kapıştı” [Obama versus Boris Johnson]. Akşam (in Turkish). Istanbul. Archived from the original on 1 May 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
796. ^ Bird, Steve (2 May 2020). “The story of Wilfred Johnson, the decorated WW2 pilot who has given his name to the Prime Minister’s son”. The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
797. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 21; Gimson 2012, p. 10.
798. ^ Peled, Daniella (2008). “Interview: Boris Johnson – my Jewish credentials”. The Jewish Chronicle (April). Archived from the original on 17 September 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
799. ^ “Boris Johnson’s Sister Reveals His Little-known Past as a Volunteer on an Israeli Kibbutz”. Haaretz. 8 August 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
800. ^ Woodward, Will (17 July 2007). “Phooey! One-man melting pot ready to take on King Newt”. The Guardian. London.
801. ^ “BBC – Who Do You Think You Are? – Boris Johnson – How we did it – European Aristocracy”. BBC. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
802. ^ “Prime Minister Boris Johnson Traces His Family History | Who Do You Think You Are”. YouTube. 23 July 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
803. ^ “Mummy found in Basel church is related to Boris Johnson”. swissinfo.ch. 25 January 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
804. ^ Foulkes, Imogen (28 January 2018). “Boris Johnson ‘is descendant’ of mummified Basel woman”. BBC News. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
805. ^ Edwards & Isaby 2008, p. 47.
806. ^ Gimson 2012, p. 148.
807. ^ Purnell 2011, p. 345.
808. ^ Gimson 2012, p. 279.
809. ^ “Big girl’s blouse: Johnson faces backlash over Corbyn jibe”. BBC News. 5 September 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
810. ^ Belam, Martin (4 September 2019). “‘You great big girl’s blouse’ – Johnson appears to insult Corbyn during PMQs”. The Guardian. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
811. ^ “Boris Johnson calls David Cameron ‘girly swot’ in leaked note”. The Guardian. London. 6 September 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
812. ^ Drake, Matt (18 October 2019). “David Cameron calls Boris Johnson a ‘greased piglet’ before backing Brexit deal”. The Independent. London. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
813. ^ Chadwick, Vince (24 May 2016). “Donald Trump and Boris Johnson kiss and make Out”. Politico.
814. ^ Greenslade, Roy (29 June 2016). “New York Post compares Boris Johnson to Donald Trump”. The Guardian. London.
815. ^ “London mayor Boris Johnson eyes Trump-style insurgency in EU battle”. Newsweek. Reuters. 23 March 2016.
816. ^ Jump up to:^a b McTague, Tom (4 October 2021). “Is Boris Johnson a Liar?”. The Atlantic. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
817. ^ Wright, Oliver (2 June 2016). “EU referendum: Boris Johnson is like Donald Trump ‘with a thesaurus’, claims Nick Clegg”. The Independent. London.
818. ^ “Ken Clarke: Boris Johnson is just a ‘nicer Donald Trump'”. The Daily Telegraph. London. 30 May 2016. Archived from the original on 18 July 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
819. ^ “Trump on Johnson: ‘They call him Britain Trump'”. BBC News. 23 July 2019.
820. ^ “Trump’s Muslim comments ‘extraordinary’: Ex London mayor Boris Johnson”. CNBC. 5 June 2016.
821. ^ Kentish, Benjamin (30 June 2019). “Boris Johnson praises Trump, saying US president has ‘many, many good qualities'”. The Independent. London. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
822. ^ Merrick, Rob (26 June 2018). “Boris Johnson explains why he ‘admires’ Trump and refuses to personally condemn his family separation policy”. The Independent. London. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
823. ^ Crilly, Rob (7 May 2018). “Boris Johnson warns Trump that abandoning Iran nuclear deal could spark ‘dash for a bomb'”. The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
824. ^ “Who is Boris Johnson, the man poised to be the next British leader?”. NBC News. 26 May 2019.
825. ^ “Our end-of-year awards celebrate the worst in politics”. The Economist. 6 December 2018. ISSN 0013-0613. Archived from the original on 6 December 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
826. ^ “I was Boris Johnson’s boss: he is utterly unfit to be prime minister | Max Hastings”. The Guardian. 24 June 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
827. ^ Grierson, Jamie (10 December 2021). “Lies, damned lies: the full list of accusations against Boris Johnson”. The Guardian. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
828. ^ Jump up to:^a b Kuenssberg, Laura (1 May 2021). “Boris Johnson: What is the PM’s relationship with the truth?”. BBC News. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
829. ^ Stubley, Peter (25 May 2019). “Boris Johnson’s most infamous lies and untruths”. The Independent. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
830. ^ Sparrow, Andrew (19 April 2021). “Parties call for inquiry into Boris Johnson’s ‘failure to be honest'”. The Guardian. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
831. ^ “The Assault on Truth by Peter Oborne review – Boris Johnson’s lies”. The Guardian. 3 February 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
832. ^ Lynch, David (30 November 2021). “Boris Johnson ‘has demonstrated himself to be liar’, SNP’s Ian Blackford claims”. The Independent. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
833. ^ Walker, Peter (26 July 2021). “Dawn Butler was right to call Boris Johnson a liar, says Keir Starmer”. The Guardian. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
834. ^ “PM accused of lying about lockdown party after email proves one was held”. ITV News. 11 January 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
835. ^ “No evidence for Boris Johnson’s claim about Keir Starmer and Jimmy Savile”. BBC News. 3 February 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
836. ^ “Boris Johnson’s policy chief Munira Mirza resigns over PM’s Savile remarks”. BBC News. 3 February 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
837. ^ “Top aide quits as UK PM Johnson backs down over Savile barb at rival”. Reuters. 3 February 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
838. ^ Johnson, Boris (5 August 2018). “Denmark has got it wrong. Yes, the burka is oppressive and ridiculous – but that’s still no reason to ban it”. The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 30 August 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
839. ^ “Johnson burka ‘letter box’ jibe sparks anger”. BBC News. 6 August 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
840. ^ “Johnson ‘won’t apologise’ for burka comments”. BBC News. 7 August 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
841. ^ “Criticism grows of Johnson’s burka jibe”. BBC News. 8 August 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
842. ^ “Theresa May demands Boris Johnson apologise for Islamophobic burqa comments”. The Independent. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
843. ^ “Conservative chairman calls for apology from Boris Johnson over burka remarks”. BT News. 7 August 2018. Archived from the original on 5 June 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
844. ^ “Sky Data poll: Comparing women who wear burkas to bank robbers ‘not racist'”. Sky News. 8 August 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
845. ^ “Johnson to be investigated over burka row”. BBC News. 9 August 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
846. ^ “Boris Johnson cleared by investigation into burka comments”. Sky News. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
847. ^ Bienkov, Adam. “Boris Johnson called gay men ‘tank-topped bumboys’ and black people ‘piccaninnies’ with ‘watermelon smiles'”. Business Insider.
848. ^ Stefano, Mark Di. “Prime Minister Boris Johnson Used The N-Word In A 2004 Comic Novel”. BuzzFeed.
849. ^ Woodcock, Andrew (4 September 2019). “Boris Johnson faces stinging attack over ‘derogatory, racist and Islamophobic’ remarks”. The Independent.
850. ^ Dave Hill. “Boris Johnson converts to Islam”. The Guardian.
851. ^ “”A Very Social Secretary””. Daybreak Pictures. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
852. ^ Parker, Robin (27 July 2009). “Cast emerges for More4’s young Tories drama”. Broadcast. Emap Media.
853. ^ O’Donovan, Gerard (18 June 2017). “Theresa v Boris: How May Became PM review: an odd yet ambitious concotion”. The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
854. ^ Wollaston, Sam (19 June 2017). “Theresa vs Boris: How May Became PM review – a timely mix of treachery and Mayhem”. The Guardian.
855. ^ Bennett, Asa (28 December 2018). “Brexit: The Uncivil War review: Benedict Cumberbatch is superb in this thrilling romp through the referendum”. The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 30 December 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
856. ^ Elliott, Matthew (4 January 2019). “Vote Leave’s Matthew Elliott on Channel 4’s Brexit: The Uncivil War”. Financial Times. Archived from the original on 24 January 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2021. Screenwriter James Graham has turned the campaign into a compelling story – and nailed my mannerisms.
857. ^ “2DTV cast and crew credits”. British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
858. ^ “Newzoids returns for second series”. ITV Press Centre. 9 May 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
859. ^ “Headcases cast and crew credits”. British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
860. ^ White, Adam (8 December 2020). “Saturday Night Live: James Corden plays Boris Johnson in ‘good-looking bad boys of NATO’ sketch”. The Independent. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
861. ^ Carr, Flora (2 October 2020). “Spitting Image puppets – here’s who appears in the BritBox revival”. Radio Times. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
862. ^ Clarke, Patrick (14 December 2020). “Watch Robbie Williams play Boris Johnson in video for festive single ‘Can’t Stop Christmas'”. NME. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
863. ^ Greig, James (23 December 2020). “A Song Called ‘Boris Johnson Is a Fucking C*nt’ Could Be Christmas Number 1”. www.vice.com. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
864. ^ “Official Singles Chart Top 100: 25 December 2020 – 31 December 2020”. Official Charts Company. 25 December 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
865. ^ “Honorary Graduates”. Brunel University London. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
866. ^ “RIBA Honorary Fellowships 2018 announced”. Architecture.com. Retrieved 11 November 2019. The lifetime honour allows recipients to use the initials Hon FRIBA after their name.
867. ^ Fulcher, Merlin (6 December 2011). “Boris Johnson scoops RIBA honorary fellowship”. Architects Journal. London. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
868. ^ “London mayor Boris Johnson named honorary Australian of the Year”. The Guardian. London. Associated Press. 26 January 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
869. ^ Magnay, Jacquelin (26 January 2014). “Boris Johnson admits to being a bit baffled by honorary Aussie award”. The Australian. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
870. ^ Tilbrook, Richard (15 July 2016). “Business Transacted and Orders Approved at the Privy Council Held by the Queen at Buckingham Palace on 15th July 2016” (PDF). The Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 2 February 2022.

Sources

• Bower, Tom (2021). Boris Johnson: The Gambler. Random House. ISBN 978-0753554920.
• Crines, Andrew S. (2013). “Why did Boris Johnson win the 2012 mayoral election?”. Public Policy and Administration Research. 3 (9): 1–7.
• Edwards, Giles; Isaby, Jonathan (2008). Boris v. Ken: How Boris Johnson Won London. London: Politico’s. ISBN 978-1-84275-225-8.
• Gimson, Andrew (2012). Boris: The Rise of Boris Johnson (second ed.). Simon & Schuster.
• Hill, Dave (2016). Zac Versus Sadiq: The Fight to Become London Mayor. Not specified: Double Q. ISBN 978-1-911079-20-0.
• Hosken, Andrew (2008). Ken: The Ups and Downs of Ken Livingstone. Arcadia Books. ISBN 978-1-905147-72-4.
• Johnson, Stanley (2009). Stanley I Presume. London: Fourth Estate. ISBN 978-0-00-729673-6.
• Purnell, Sonia (2011). Just Boris: Boris Johnson: The Irresistible Rise of a Political Celebrity. London: Aurum Press Ltd. ISBN 978-1-84513-665-9.

Notes

1. ^ Deputised as First Secretary of State between July 2019 and September 2021; as Deputy Prime Minister since September 2021.
2. ^ Formally, Parliament is prorogued by the monarch (Queen Elizabeth II) on the advice of the prime minister; it is a common legal fiction in the UK that many executive functions of the prime minister are formally carried out by the monarch on the prime minister’s “advice“, which is effectively the legal instrument by which the prime minister carries out the function. It was this advice of Johnson’s that was ruled unlawful, not the actions of the Queen.^[6]
3. ^ Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2257/94 introduced the requirement for bananas to be “free from malformation or abnormal curvature”; different standards applied to different classes of banana.^[94]
4. ^ The EU introduced limits on the power of vacuum cleaners in 2014.^[96][97]
5. ^ This was a reduction on the 2035 target set in February that year, which brought forward the previous deadline of 2040.^[596]
6. ^ Sources differ on whether the marriage ended in divorce^[756][757] or with an annulment.^[106][758]

Further reading

• Gimson, Andrew. Boris: The Adventures of Boris Johnson (Simon and Schuster, 2012).
• Dale, Iaian. The Little Book of Boris. (Harriman House Ltd., 2007) ISBN 978-1-905641-64-2
• Hayton, Richard. “Conservative Party Statecraft and the Johnson Government.” Political Quarterly (2021). online
• Heppell, Timothy, and Thomas McMeeking. “The Conservative Party Leadership Transition from Theresa May to Boris Johnson: Party Popularity and Leadership Satisfaction.” Representation 57.1 (2021): 59–73.
• O’Toole, Fintan, “The King of Little England”, The New York Review of Books, vol. LXVIII, no. 10 (10 June 2021), pp. 44–46.
• Vasudevan, A. The Thinking Man’s Idiot: The Wit and Wisdom of Boris Johnson (New Holland Publishers (UK) Ltd., 2008) ISBN 978-1-84773-359-7
• Worthy, Ben, Mark Bennister, and Max W. Stafford. “Rebels leading London: the mayoralties of Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson compared.” British Politics 14.1 (2019): 23–43. excerpt

External links

• Boris Johnson official website
• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Boris Johnson column archives at The Daily Telegraph
• Portraits of Boris Johnson at the National Portrait Gallery, London 
• Works by or about Boris Johnson in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Boris Johnson on the Muck Rack journalist listing site