No Boris – greed is not good

Last night Mayor of London Boris Johnson addressed the right-wing Centre for Policy Studies and delivered the annual Margaret Thatcher lecture. He could have used this as an opportunity to try and help with the modernisation of his party. He could have used this to distance himself from the deeply divisive tactics adopted by David Cameron of divide and rule and ‘dead cat politics’ favoured by the PM’s new Australian strategist Lynton Crosby. Instead of trying to play his part in dragging the Conservative Party into the 21^st Century he lurched to the right in an apparent attempt to position himself as Cameron’s successor.

Put simply his comments are absolutely disgraceful. He seems to have forgotten one of the causes of the financial crash – greed (see US Financial Crisis Inquiry Report here p469-470). If the Mayor really thinks the answer to spurring economic growth and getting our young people into high quality jobs is greed then it shows just how clueless he really is. He should be supporting practical policies like the Educational Maintenance Allowance, lower tuition fees and wrap around childcare. The EMA was instrumental in helping young people from lower-income backgrounds into staying in on college, the massive hike in tuition fees is putting people from poorer backgrounds off going to university at all, and the lack of affordable childcare is making it more difficult for people to return to work.

He also seems to think that accumulating vast amounts of wealth is the only motivator in life. It might be for him on his £140,000 Mayoral salary, plus the £250,000 a year “chicken-feed” he receives for writing his Telegraph column. Boris may struggle to comprehend this but many people are motivated by public service – like our nurses, police officers, firefighters and teachers. He seems to idolise greed, vast wealth and those who have it. Whether it be his close relationship with finance – receiving around 70% of his 2008 Mayoral Campaign donations from hedge funds, his ardent defence of the super-rich or his friendship with Rupert Murdoch.

Last night Boris spoke about those who are less able as if they were some kind of sub species. This kind of rhetoric is deeply offensive and does nothing except create division. This is further evidence of the ‘Crosbyisation’ of politics. The Mayor should wake up and use his position to help all Londoners and not just pander to the right.

He confirmed he is prepared to support a smaller state and reduce opportunities for the many. We need to read between the lines of his speech, this is about the privileged and powerful in our society being looked after with a few scraps left for the middle and working classes. This is no way to meet the challenges our country faces in the future.

Rather than putting in place assistance to help everyone achieve their full potential he has written off large numbers of people in our country and the city he is elected to represent. We shouldn’t write people off and not give them a chance, we want all schools to be good schools and give all children the best start in life possible. By unlocking the potential in all children, regardless of their background, and helping them into their chosen career we can help grow our economy. His comments sound like economic eugenics and are typical of his and his government’s approach – causing further polarisation and dividing our country.

So, unsurprisingly Boris has made a bid for the right of the Conservative Party and is essentially fighting on the ideological ground that Nigel Farage wants the Conservative Party to be on. By successfully dragging the argument within the Conservative Party to the right Mr Farage gets further cover for his own toxic policies of division. I would have thought Boris would be intelligent enough to spot this elephant trap, but he obviously places his own interests – trying to win the support of right-winger Tories in Parliament – ahead of seeking to bring the country together. This is further confirmation for the British Public that in 2015 we need a one-nation Labour Government that will bring our country together and abandon the Tory’s crass attempt at divide and rule.

Len Duvall is the Labour London Assembly Member for Greenwich and Lewisham