Difference between revisions of "Boris Johnson"
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Revision as of 18:05, 29 October 2012
Boris Johnson has been the Mayor of London since May 2008.
Contents
Background
Boris Johnson was born on 19 June 1964 in New York, USA, educated at Eton, (King’s Scholar) and Balliol College, Oxford (Brackenbury Scholar in Classics).[1] The pollster Frank Luntz has claimed that while at Oxford Johnson touted himself as a supporter of the Social Democratic Party, then a dominant current at the university, as a strategy to win the Union presidency, though Johnson denies he was more than the SDP's preferred candidate.[2] Along with David Cameron he was a member of Oxford's Bullingdon Club, a student dining society known for its raucous feasts.[3]
History
After graduating in 1987, Johnson became a trainee reporter with the Times newspaper but was sacked within a year for falsifying a quotation from his godfather Colin Lucas.[4]
Johnson's official biography on the London Mayor website states:
- After a short time as a writer for the Wolverhampton Express and Star, he joined The Daily Telegraph in 1987 as leader and feature writer. From 1989 to 1994 he was the Telegraph's European Community correspondent and from 1994 to 1999 he served as assistant editor. His association with The Spectator began as political columnist in 1994. In 1999 he became editor of the paper and stayed in this role until December 2005.[5]
- In 2001 he was elected MP for Henley on Thames, replacing Michael Heseltine. He has held shadow government posts as Vice Chairman, Shadow Minister for the Arts and Shadow Minister of Higher Education. In July 2007, Boris Johnson resigned from his position as shadow education secretary so that he would be free to stand as Conservative candidate for Mayor London. He resigned as MP for Henley shortly after becoming Mayor of London.[6]
Then Conservative leader Michael Howard sacked Johnson as shadow arts minister in 2004 for lying about an affair with Spectator journalist Petronella Wyatt.[7]
Current activities
Johnson was elected Mayor of London in May 2008.[8]
Staff appointments
Johnson appointed Richard Barnes as his Deputy Mayor on 6 May 2008, as well as appointing the following to newly devolved offices; Ian Clement as Deputy Mayor for Government Relations, Kit Malthouse as Deputy Mayor for Policing and Ray Lewis as Deputy Mayor for Young People.[9]
Johnson appointed Nicholas Boles, the founder of Policy Exchange, as his Chief of Staff. Other Policy Exchange appointees included his cultural advisor Munira Mirza and Dan Ritterband.[10]
Political opponents questioned Johnson's judgement when Ray Lewis resigned on 4 July 2008, shortly after taking up his post, following allegations of financial misconduct during his prior career as a Church of England priest and inappropriate behaviour in respect of a false claim to have been appointed as a magistrate.[11] Johnson himself said that he was "misled" by Lewis.[12]
Lobbying for The City
Correspondence obtained by SpinWatch reveals that in December 2009 TheCityUK's chairman Stuart Popham hosted a lunch attended by Johnson, the then shadow chancellor, George Osborne, and Goldman Sachs International's co-CEO Michael Sherwood.
- “The purpose of the lunch”, according to a letter from Johnson dated 21 December 2009, “is to discuss threats to London's competitiveness as a global financial centre”, as well as “to hear your concerns and suggestions, and to reassure you that we remain committed to doing all we can to ensure London retains its position.”[13]
Days before the lunch, Johnson had written to Goldman's Chair and CEO, Lloyd Blankfein, to restate his support for the City: “I will strongly defend London's financial services industry against the threats of punitive taxation and new burdensome EU regulations”, he wrote.[13]
Views
External Resources
- Boris Johnson Personal website
- Boris Johnson Wikipedia page
- Boris Johnson: A member of the hard Tory right, Compass report.
Affiliations
- Richard Sharp - former Goldman Sachs senior executive who is a supporter and funder. See Doing God’s Work: How Goldman Sachs Rigs the Game - SpinWatch investigation detailing Goldman Sachs’ secret lobbying activities in the UK and Brussels and links to politicians. March 2011.
Publications
Notes
- ↑ About Boris, boris-johnson.com, accessed 23 August 2008.
- ↑ "Pandora column: A youthful flirtation comes back to haunt Boris", by Henry Deedes The Independent, 9 August 2006. Retrieved on 23 August 2008.
- ↑ Cameron's cronies in the Bullingdon class of '87, Daily Mail 13 February 2007
- ↑ Boris Johnson's media scrapes BBC News, 17 July 2007.
- ↑ Mayor of London - biography, Greater London Authority, accessed 24 August 2008.
- ↑ Mayor of London - biography, Greater London Authority, accessed 24 August 2008.
- ↑ Boris Johnson sacked for lying over affair, by Andrew Porter and Nicholas Hellen, The Sunday Times, 14 November 2004.
- ↑ Johnson Wins London Mayoral Race BBC News, 3 May 2008.
- ↑ Boris Johnson announces further senior appointments to his administration Greater London Authority, 5 June 2008
- ↑ Boris Tory HQ team puts reins on Boris Johnsonby Robert Watts and Jonathan Oliver, The Sunday Times, 11 May 2008.
- ↑ London mayor: Johnson forced to remove his deputy mayor after magistrate claim proves false by Matthew Taylor and Dave Hill, The Guardian, 5 July 2008.
- ↑ Mayor Johnson 'misled' by deputy BBC News, 5 July 2008.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 SpinWatch, Doing God’s Work: How Goldman Sachs Rigs the Game - SpinWatch investigation detailing Goldman Sachs’ secret lobbying activities in the UK and Brussels and links to politicians. Published on Scribd, March 2011. p8.
