Any hint of reality is accidental in Boris Johnson’s Telegraph column-style conference speech
Not so much a conference speech, more an extended Daily Telegraph column. One knocked off in a hurry at the last minute. This was politics as light entertainment, with any collision with the real world entirely accidental. Plenty of jokes – one or two even moderately good ones – and soundbites for the TV, but nothing of any substance. Just another day like any other in the life of Boris Johnson.
The lights went out and Spandau Ballet played through the PA system. “You’re indestructible, always believing you’re gold” is the narcissist’s theme tune. No wonder Boris loves it. He is the man who doesn’t have to try too hard. Even when the country feels like it is falling apart around him, in his universe he can reconfigure it into his own image as a roaring success. All you need is to believe. If you don’t like the world you’re in – and 4 million households were waking up to a £20 a week cut in universal credit – then it’s probably your own fault.