London 2012: "Brand Boris" marches on

As Britain returns to normality after two and a bit weeks of the best escapism one could wish for, one man must be purring with delight at how well things have gone. Not just for ‘Team GB,’ or London 2012 as a whole, but for his own brand. London Mayor Boris Johnson will surely be reflecting on a “rather jolly good fortnight”, as he’d probably put it. It’s quite good being me at the moment, he’d no doubt mutter.

And who can blame him. His stock has risen further. The world came, they loved what they saw, and Boris even managed to pull out a few party tricks to keep us all entertained. What struck me at the sight of one of the most powerful men in Europe dangling from a zip wire, legs flapping in mid air, twirling mini Union Flags, was not actually the episode itself. It was the fact that only a politician as high-profile as Boris Johnson would even dare attempt such a stunt. He did, he got stuck, he got laughed at, he came away with it smelling of roses. His team of advisers have now probably realised that trying to rein him in is pointless. Boris being Boris is a vote winner, a crowd pleaser, let him get on with it.

Us seasoned political anoraks know the dishevelled wild hair, ruffled just before he appears on camera, the bumbling fool act, is all part of a carefully crafted persona. And on Sunday, caught bopping away to the Spice Girls at the Olympics closing ceremony, like the proverbial embarrassing uncle at a wedding.

The clamour by the Tory grassroots for him to succeed David Cameron grows louder by the opinion poll. The PM is still way ahead of Boris as the preferred choice to lead the Tories into the next general election: 49% versus 18%. When he departs, only William Hague, who constantly reminds us of his desire not to take his old job back, stands in his way of the Tory leadership, if the party faithful have their way.

He’s still very much part of the anti-politics mood in vogue right now, is Boris. He’s the exception that proves the rule as far as the perennial politician bashers are concerned. The engaging, watchable, effervescent, Mayor. Jonathan Freedland humorously sums up the power of his brand as:

“The one person in British politics who passes both the Madonna test – no surname necessary – and The Simpsons test, a character recognisable by his silhouette alone.”

Say the name Boris to the most apathetic voter and more often than not he/she will know you’re talking about the Mayor of London. Say David, Ed, or Nick to the same person and they’ll think you’re talking about one of their mates.

In some respects, a Boris takeover at the top of the Tory Party before 2015 would be Ed Miliband’s worst nightmare. How to take on someone like him would be a real challenge. The leadership debates would certainly make compulsive viewing. Boris isn’t easy to pin down, as Labour found out to its cost in May. Trying to make the London Mayoral election about policies and Ken Livingstone’s record failed. London became all about the Ken v Boris soap opera, more dominated by their contrasting personalities, than policies. It would be easy to say Ken never had a chance, but a 3 point win for Boris suggests that his popularity only carries him so far.

The Economist’s “Bagehot” columnist believes he seems:

“Too chaotic to be at the centre of power. The people who want to have their pictures taken with him may not want him in charge of the NHS.”

The ‘Boris Bounce’ currently only gives the Tories a modest poll boost. Not yet a ‘game-changer,’ but something for us to chew on for a while, or until Cameron’s ratings nudge upwards again. If by the end of the year the PM is unable to get himself out of this rut, the speculation will grow and grow.

Some pundits claim that Boris’s appeal doesn’t stretch beyond London and the Home Counties, but a Sun/YouGov poll found:

“One in ten Labour voters admits they would be more likely to back the Tories if [Boris] was at the helm. This compares with just one in 100 who think David Cameron could persuade them to switch.”  

Admittedly, these are still small numbers, but could make all the difference in an election that produces another hung parliament. Irrespective of several months of good polling news for Labour, the party needs to scrap for every vote it can get. It can’t afford to have even a handful of potential voters turning blue and falling for Boris’s charm.

The always worth reading Tim Montgomerie, sums up his popularity:

“He is a Eurosceptic who doesn’t just love his country but loves its people too, whatever their politics, colour, religion or sexuality. David Cameron is comfortable with modern Britain too, but, to adapt one of Mr Johnson’s own expressions, Boris zoinks off the Geiger counter of positivity. He hugs the nation and smothers it with rhetorical kisses."

Despite his reservations on seeing him ever become PM, “Bagehot” notes that Boris has been ‘broadly brilliant at shaping how people think of him.’

‘An ability to persuade a party that you belong to its tribe while saying things it disagrees,’ as he has skillfully managed with fawning Tories on the right, means Boris Johnson has to be taken seriously, because you can bet that behind all the bluster and buffoonery, he has his eye on the number one job in British politics.  

 

This article was first published by Shifting Grounds on Tuesday 14th August 2012

London 2012 understands what it means to be British

It’s taken years of debate, controversy, misunderstanding, the rise of the far right, and more debate, yet at last it feels as if there is a Britain and a Britishness in which we can all identify and feel comfortable with. Step forward London 2012, with surely the best answer yet in the “what it means to be British” saga. And all achieved without a politician in sight. Another reminder that sometimes it’s best to leave sport to grapple with the unanswerables, which it seems to be able to do, almost without trying.

The Olympics opening ceremony, over a week ago, provided a fitting tribute to the multi-ethnic, all-inclusive island, we have become. There was something for everyone. Sunder Katwala, director of the excellent, non-partisan, British Future think tank, in his terrific summary, said it delivered a message to the outside world, as well as one to ourselves:

"The need to project a story to the world offered a catalyst for a conversation that we have needed to have here, about how we want to think about who we are, how we live together, and what we share as modern Britons.

“What the show captured is that national pride also resides in our shared cultural experiences.”

Katwala went on to point out that a ‘show, don’t tell’ principle ran through the entire ceremony. Articulating Britishness is one thing but, ‘any authentic version depends on feeling it first:’

“Yet we should now see that the answer to the question ‘what makes you British?’ was staring us in the face all of the time.

“It is Britain that makes you British.”

And so we come to our heroic athletes. If that last statement applies to anyone, it’s to the so-called “Plastic Brits,” that now notorious, grubby, jibe. On being asked by one insensitive journalist if he would have preferred to have represented Somalia, moments after his extraordinary 10,000m win, Mo Farah gave the perfect riposte:

“Look mate, this is my country.

"This is where I grew up, this is where I started life. This is my country and when I put on my Great Britain vest I'm proud. I'm very proud.”

Only the most unfeeling, stingy, commentator could quibble with that. Britain’s Olympic team is enriched with talent, some of whose families hail from all corners of the globe. Some of the athletes were indeed born abroad. All have chosen to win medals for Great Britain.

The view that you have to be born and bred on these shores in order to count in the eyes of some as ‘100% pure Brit’ seems as outdated as it is preposterous. The interesting thing about Aidan Burley MP’s description of the opening ceremony as ‘leftie multi-cultural crap,’ (didn’t he really just mean ‘too many black faces?’) was how isolated it left him and how foolish it made him look. No doubt he’ll be disgusted at the sight of multicultural Britons gobbling up gold medals.

For decades now we’ve got used to the sight of sportsmen and women, from all backgrounds, representing Britain or its nations. Find me the last time an England starting XI was made up of just white footballers? Sport has adapted and moved with the times. England’s cricket team includes a sprinkling of South African born players who now reside in England and are as proud and as committed as any.

Some believe our Olympians are a triumph for British multiculturalism, an often confused and distorted term.  It would be more accurate to say it is a victory for diversity and immigration. The highly-respected social commentator Kenan Malik would have us believe this has been a victory for the ‘lived experience of diversity:’

“The experience of living in a society that is less insular, more vibrant and more cosmopolitan is something to welcome and cherish. It is a case for cultural diversity, mass immigration, open borders and open minds.”

Rather than multiculturalism as a political process or ideology, which has sought to ‘manage diversity,’ by putting people into rigid cultural and ethnic boxes, without room for manoeuvre.  The Great Britain team is the coming together of multiple cultures under one unifying banner.

As many observers have already said, hopefully it is also a crushing blow to Scottish independence. I can’t imagine there would have been too many SNP members thrilled at the sights of Sir Chris Hoy and Andy Murray draped in the Union Flag. Powerful images indeed.

The Olympics is an excuse for a very British patriotism: one that isn’t jingoistic or vulgar, but proud yet equally humble. The interviews with our victorious, and near victorious, rowers, cyclists, swimmers and athletes, shows a group of the most delightful and unassuming people you could ever hope to hear, basking in the glory of having achieved greatness, or apologising needlessly for having let their country down.

What “Euro ’96” did for Englishness, London 2012 has done for Britishness. Once again sport has led the way. What it means to be British is being brilliantly played out before our eyes. 

 

This article was first published by Shifting Grounds on Wednesday 8th August 2012