Thursday, August 16, 2018
The cost of Boris' betrayal
Boris Johnson is not afraid of controversy. In fact he actively courts it. The dishevelled, bumbling, obfuscating figure he projects is a carefully nurtured act designed to throw people off guard, get him through awkward situations and endear him to others. It raises his profile and keeps him in the 'game' as a potential future Prime Minister.
His problem is that when looked at in the cold light of day, his past behaviour and record do not stand up to scrutiny, not least in any evaluation of his fitness for high office. What may be concerning his constituents however, is his failure to follow through on clear election promises that directly impact on their quality of life. Some may consider that a clear betrayal.
I am referring of course, to his promise to lie down in front of bulldozers to prevent a third runway being built at Heathrow airport, close to his Uxbridge constituency in west London. He has not yet been given the opportunity to come good on that pledge, but he has betrayed those he represents on this issue in a more mundane fashion, by failing to turn up to vote against it in the House of Commons.
Instead, Boris took advantage of his position as Foreign Secretary to jet off to Afghanistan for a day, where he met the president, Ashraf Ghani, and had lunch with the deputy foreign minister, Hekmat Karzai. As John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, said, Johnson “scuttled out of the country at the taxpayer’s expense rather than honouring his promise to his constituents”.
We now know, thanks to this article in the Guardian, that the cost of flights and visas for the three members of staff who accompanied the then foreign secretary on his trip was £19,366. There were no hotel costs, as the visit lasted only one day. The government has refused to disclose the cost of sending Johnson on the visit, saying the information would be published “in due course” on the Foreign Office’s website.
Contrast this behaviour with other Government ministers. Greg Hands, another senior Conservative with a London constituency, resigned as a trade minister so that he could honour a promise to his constituents that he would vote against the government’s Heathrow plans.
It is little wonder that honourable politicians like former attorney-general Dominic Grieve, have said they could not remain members of the party if Johnson became leader.
His problem is that when looked at in the cold light of day, his past behaviour and record do not stand up to scrutiny, not least in any evaluation of his fitness for high office. What may be concerning his constituents however, is his failure to follow through on clear election promises that directly impact on their quality of life. Some may consider that a clear betrayal.
I am referring of course, to his promise to lie down in front of bulldozers to prevent a third runway being built at Heathrow airport, close to his Uxbridge constituency in west London. He has not yet been given the opportunity to come good on that pledge, but he has betrayed those he represents on this issue in a more mundane fashion, by failing to turn up to vote against it in the House of Commons.
Instead, Boris took advantage of his position as Foreign Secretary to jet off to Afghanistan for a day, where he met the president, Ashraf Ghani, and had lunch with the deputy foreign minister, Hekmat Karzai. As John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, said, Johnson “scuttled out of the country at the taxpayer’s expense rather than honouring his promise to his constituents”.
We now know, thanks to this article in the Guardian, that the cost of flights and visas for the three members of staff who accompanied the then foreign secretary on his trip was £19,366. There were no hotel costs, as the visit lasted only one day. The government has refused to disclose the cost of sending Johnson on the visit, saying the information would be published “in due course” on the Foreign Office’s website.
Contrast this behaviour with other Government ministers. Greg Hands, another senior Conservative with a London constituency, resigned as a trade minister so that he could honour a promise to his constituents that he would vote against the government’s Heathrow plans.
It is little wonder that honourable politicians like former attorney-general Dominic Grieve, have said they could not remain members of the party if Johnson became leader.
