As We Know It?

Laura Perrins writes:

Boris Johnson has declared his intention to run for Parliament in 2015. It is widely believed that ultimately he wants to be the leader of the Conservative Party.

If this were ever to come to pass it should hail the end of the Conservative Party as we know it.

Until very recently it would be inconceivable that anyone with the personal life of Boris Johnson could even contemplate running for a party that holds itself out to be socially conservative.

This is a man who has conducted no less than three adulterous affairs.

One produced a child – a fact something that he attempted to keep out of the public domain - and another resulted in an abortion, reportedly paid for by Boris Johnson at the private Portland Hospital in London (there is a posh adulterous affair if ever there was one).

Today, socially conservative voters are supposed to overlook this personal car crash and just ‘assess him on the policies’. You will have to excuse me if I beg to differ.

It is now considered hip, modern and mature to essentially ignore the private life of a politician as long as “he can do the job”.

I have always thought this is total hogwash. One of the reasons we vote for politicians is because of their character. This is not necessarily the sole or deciding issue, but it is pretty important.

The personal life and history of a politician can give a good indication of what his character may be. What do adulterous affairs tell us about someone’s character?

Some may think that it takes quite a lot of energy, cunning and subterfuge to conduct this many affairs (I understand they were not all at the same time, but still) and these are all necessary ‘qualities’ one must possess to succeed in politics.

This is the House of Cards world-view. I however am a fan of The West Wing and like my politicians to inspire.

It is perfectly legitimate for socially conservative voters to believe that a man who thinks so little of his marriage vows that he breaks them no less than three times is not going to be the great champion of socially conservative values.

Not only does this record mean that he is less likely to actually believe in the institution of marriage, but it will also fatally undermine any political policy he seeks to pursue that may protect the institution of marriage from the repeated and vicious onslaught from the liberal Left.

So, as Boris Johnson’s personal record will seriously impinge his political ability to promote social goods such as marriage, then any socially conservative voter is entitled to reject him on this ground alone.

Now, the liberal metropolitan elite will, over the next few months, attempt to shame, bully and humiliate Conservative voters who have serious misgivings about Boris Johnson’s personal life.

They will be dismissed as a bunch of ignorant, old fashioned prudes – just another bunch of ‘swivel-eyed loons.’

Well, this swivel-eyed loon has a serious issue with any Conservative politician who believes that ending the life of his unborn child is the right response to one of his three affairs. But that is just me.

Oh, and as a married conservative woman I also don’t like politicians who lie to their wives – repeatedly. This no doubt makes me a prude.

This would not wash in the US. A Republican politician with even half the record of Boris Johnson would be dead in the water.

The party would not even consider insulting the Republican grassroots by putting such a person forward. But in Britain we are just expected to like it or lump it.

Essentially, if Boris Johnson does ever become leader of the Conservative Party, it should relinquish the name conservative and just go with libertarian – for that is what it is.

This may not play as well down in the shires, but the party should be done for some sort of “passing off” action for holding themselves out to be something they are not. Intellectual property lawyers please do contact us through the website on this one.

"The party would not even consider insulting the Republican grassroots by putting such a person forward"? No, it laughs at them by nominating Sarah Palin and Paul Ryan instead. Ridiculous caricatures put up for a laugh. But the people being spat on do not even realise.