Keep an eye on Boris – it can teach you a lot

By David Beeson

Do you remember Boris Johnson?

He used to edit a right-wing propaganda rag. That gave him the springboard to get into parliament. There he made a lot of noise, much of it entertaining, though he actually achieved little of substance. He wrote a book about Rome which was entertaining but a little short of substance; later he made a TV programme about what happened after the fall of Rome, which was witty but somehow lacking in substance.

It may just be me, but I feel there’s a bit of a pattern here.

Finally, he won election as mayor of London, which is fine if you live in the provinces.

One of his first actions as mayor was to drive the then Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Sir Ian Blair, to resign. A lot of us had mixed feelings about that. On racism in the Met and the shooting dead by police of an innocent Brazilian, Blair’s attitude seemed to be casual, bordering on irresponsible. We weren’t sorry to see him gone.

On the other hand, Boris’s method of dealing with him made the treatment feel as bad as the disease: he told him they wouldn’t be able to work together which, since the Commissioner has to work with the Mayor, left Blair little choice but to resign. This feels a bit like bullying. It also displays a cavalier attitude towards the constitutional requirement for the Mayor to consult the Home Secretary over the appointment of a Commissioner.

Still, Boris was new to the job. He had to mark his territory. And he seemed to be saying that he was going to take charge of the Met and bring it under control.

Fast forward a few months. A string of videos and photos show the Met using extraordinary, many would argue disproportionate, violence against G20 protestors. The worst of these cases was that of Ian Tomlinson who wasn’t even a protestor but was subject to a brutal attack, though he was walking away from the police lines at the time.

Johnson’s comment? “I think the overwhelming majority of people in this city and this country understand the particularly difficult situation [the police] face when being asked to provide security in a demonstration such as the G20”.

The Tories are always on the side of the individual against big government. Or nearly always. Oh, OK, not when the individual is an Evening Standard salesman being assaulted by the Met.

So when you’re thinking of casting your vote for them, ask yourself :

“Would Boris back me if I was attacked without provocation by a cop, or would he back the cop?”

Is this Boris being long on froth again but disappointing on substance? Given the choice between the little guy and the State, did he use his control of the Met to come down on the side of State? Does that sound like reversion to Tory form?

And is it just Boris? You see, David Cameron is promising us a ‘culture of thrift’. Sounds good, doesn’t it? But where’s the substance behind the froth? Cameron’s not saying what, concretely, that culture’s going to mean for us.

Might it be just like Boris and the Met? Thrift for us, protection for his mates?