Home Westminster UnionsMedia Activism

Boris: Dave’s broken society “piffle”


by Newswire    
August 19, 2008 at 4:25 pm

The most powerful Tory in power has dismissed David Cameron’s ‘broken society‘ narrative as “piffle” today, in what will be regarded by CCHQ as a challenge to their authority.

In his weekly column for the Daily Telegraph, published today, London Mayor Boris Johnson said:

If you believe the British press, the youth of today is aimless, feckless and hopeless, addicted to their PlayStations, lacking in respect and lacking in the emotional discipline needed to cope with a big match occasion.

If you believe the politicians, we have a broken society, in which the courage and morals of young people have been sapped by welfarism and political correctness.

And if you look at what is happening at the Beijing Olympics, you can see what piffle that is. Do not adjust your set: that really is a collection of smiling, well-balanced young British people, giving pleasingly self-deprecating accounts of how they have managed to haul in medal after medal after medal.

David Cameron is unlikely to be impressed.


-------------------------
Share this article
          post to del.icio.us

About the author

· Other posts by Newswire

Filed under
news


15 responses in total   ||  



Reader comments

Can anyone remind me which magazine Boris used to edit, and what its line was on this?

2. Lee Griffin

He says what I’m thinking, I need crazier hair.

The Spectator…

4. Jennie Rigg

I already HAVE crazy hair! Result!

5. TheGreenTop

Looks like BoJo has finally stepped out of his deputies’ shadows and started to make some of his own gaffes.

6. Lee Griffin

London Mayor praising GB athletes, and showing how everything isn’t terrible…gaffe?

I hesitate to call it a gaffe, because it’s a good deal more sensible than the stuff Boris comes out with when he actually remembers his lines and what party he’s meant to be in. More importantly I got the impression that he actually does believe this. Much more please, and hopefully the rest of the Policy Exchange reptiles will push off in disgust and we can get things moving again.

It’s a gaffe from Cameron’s point of view, but Cameron’s point of view is PR fluff and bollocks, so who cares?

8. Mr. Stop Boris

I have to agree with Tom on this. It’s nice to see the Tories in disarray but Boris is surely on the ‘correct’ side in this one. And I don’t think anyone* called it a gaffe when, say, Ken Livingstone accused Tony Blair of waging an illegal war in Iraq at every opportunity ;)

It seems (as Tom suggests) that an awful lot of the genuine gaffes in Boris’s administration actually have their roots in Cameron, Cameron’s clique and their ‘barmy’ Policy Exchange chums. Obviously I don’t hold out much hope for Boris making a good job of Mayor whatever happens, but I can’t help thinking there’s at least a slender chance he’d make a slightly *better* job of it if he didn’t have so much central interference. Or he might just not get anything done at all, of course.

* anyone who was opposed to the war, at any rate

He certainly sounds happier when praising Britain’s hard-working young athletes or announcing that putting public investment into the infrastructure of deprived areas cuts crime than explaining how his administration is structured this week. Perhaps inside every crusty Telegraph-reading right-wing old Etonian there’s a touchy feely social democrat desperate to get out?

In truth, it seems it’s not Cameron but Francis Maude who’s the senior Tory we need to finger* as being behind this. Boles is getting the blame, but Maude links the Parker and Lewis cases even more closely to a particular wing of the Conservative Party, rather than just Policy Exchange, much as they’d love us to blame PX for the mess.

* apologies for the mental image…

10. Adam Bienkov

GIve me Boris’s gaffe-prone waywardness above Cameron’s soulless neo-Conservatism any day.

I mean he may be a moron, but at least he’s our moron.

Indeed, I do agree with Boris rather than Dave on this one. However, perception, as ever, is they key; I wonder if, in this respect, London is somehow ‘other’ and that the two statements can be perceived to be true by the relevant constituencies at the same time.

12. Dirty Euro

Broken society yeah like that tory leader’s buddy who left his wife for another man LOL.

13. Adam Bienkov

Boris has backtracked now:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7572310.stm

Who would have seen that coming?

14. Dirty Euro

Boris is weak he is tory hq;s poodle.


Reactions: Twitter, blogs
  1. Evening roundup, 19th August 2008 : Labour Outlook

    [...] their front door was an excellent way to prove how on-message he is. Jolly larks, what what! The Liberal Conspiracy and Tom Watson have [...]



Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.

 
Liberal Conspiracy is the UK's most popular left-of-centre politics blog. Our aim is to re-vitalise the liberal-left through discussion and action. More about us here.

You can read articles through the front page, via Twitter or rss feeds.
RECENT OPINION ARTICLES
TwitterRSS feedsRSS feedsFacebook
9 Comments



21 Comments



7 Comments



14 Comments



5 Comments



24 Comments



35 Comments



29 Comments



33 Comments



9 Comments



LATEST COMMENTS
» EP posted on Bloody Sunday: when it's right to reopen history

» Mr S. Pill posted on Watch: Hughes attacks Tory right on VAT & CGT

» former Para posted on Bloody Sunday: when it's right to reopen history

» Nick posted on Watch: Hughes attacks Tory right on VAT & CGT

» Sunny Hundal posted on Labour has no choice but to embrace political pluralism

» Ed Butt posted on Feeling positive about the Labour leadership? You shouldn't be

» George W. Potter posted on Cruddas backs Ken for Mayor: full statement

» Shatterface posted on Labour has no choice but to embrace political pluralism

» Sunny Hundal posted on Feeling positive about the Labour leadership? You shouldn't be

» Alex Higgins posted on Bloody Sunday: when it's right to reopen history

» Sunny Hundal posted on Feeling positive about the Labour leadership? You shouldn't be

» Alex Higgins posted on Bloody Sunday: when it's right to reopen history

» Jane Watkinson posted on Labour has no choice but to embrace political pluralism

» Jane Watkinson posted on Labour has no choice but to embrace political pluralism

» Sunny Hundal posted on Labour has no choice but to embrace political pluralism